Agriculture and Environment in Oio and Cacheu
Farmers in Guinea-Bissau need to develop resilience. They must work together to be able to handle the unexpected.
The Farmers’ Clubs in Oio and Cacheu started in 2020 and ended in August 2024. The project, including 2.000 farmers organised in 40 Farmers’ Clubs in Oio & Cacheu, started in 2020 and ended in August 2024 with the celebration of the achievements with the European Union and the local authorities.
The headline for 2024 has been sustainability. Two cooperatives have been strengthened, meeting structures agreed upon, and 20 Farmers’ Clubs fences and wells have been enforced to secure future production to the two processing centres in Oio and Cacheu regions.
Some achievements
- New learning such as intercropping, crop rotation and crop diversification and soil protection and improvements.
- Increased production of vegetables and understanding of why it is important to eat vegetables.
- Sixty cooks learned to make nutritious food for their families and schools.
- Farmers learned to store and process vegetables and fruit so they can last longer.
- Established a processing centre, and a cooperative in Oio and Cacheu.
- Women's groups were trained in the production and transformation process and got better economic results from the products.
- 40 Farmers’ Clubs model fields with wells supported the farmers in growing crops such as tomatoes, salad, eggplant, onions, peppers, cabbage, kale, beetroot, cucumbers, okra, carrots and beans.
- 60 youths selected from the involved communities continued their training and contributed to the professional operation of the Farmers’ Clubs.
- Agricultural fairs in Cacheu, Bissorã and Bissau promoted and sold fresh and processed organic produce.
New learning:
Three farmers from each of the 40 clubs in the Oio and Cacheu regions met to share their knowledge, and new knowledge and understanding grew from this. This will continue through a WhatsApp platform.
In 2024, the farmers produced 51.211 kg of vegetables.
Supported by: European Union Guinea-Bissau.