Bréhima Sagara is an exceptional individual. Son of farmers, he was born in 1956 in Dourou, not far from Bandiagara. A lover of agriculture, he expresses himself in these terms, “I, Brehima, love this profession with devotion. I know that one can earn a good livelihood and even become wealthy.”

The great fame of Bréhima is due to his creative genius. In this village, he was the very first to embrace market gardening, which he practised first along a creek that crosses the village of Kourou-Tangui. An advocate of crop diversification, this rural pioneer farms a bit of everything: eggplants, cucumbers, peppers, okra, shallots, sweet potato, sorrel, potato, and therapeutic plants. His experimental potato plot, which started within the framework of the FSCA Programme, yielded 40 tonnes per hectare, beating all the records in Bandiagara.

From a strategic point of view, Bréhima explains the reasons for crop diversification. “Here, in August, there is the merciless food shortage. In this period, one rarely finds rural farmers who still have food provisions of their lofts. Imagine this interruption of food provision just at the moment where it is not yet time to harvest Do you understand? At this time, we lack food and money to buy food. So, I imagined that if I grew eggplants and cucumbers, which would quickly become appreciated, I would have enough money to buy foodstuffs. In the month of August, with a single cartload of eggplants in the market of Bandiagara, I can earn CFAF 50 000. Similarly, cucumbers sells very well in a village like Bandiagara. Moreover, it is possible to eat them in various ways and at all times. It’s a bargain — to be able to face food shortages and even make some money!”.

To be successful, “my secret is nothing more than good support and appropriate use of well composed manure. I no longer pay for chemical fertilizer. Compost largely satisfies my fertilization needs. With the agricultural sector in Bandiagara and recently, with the FSCA Programme, I have set up improved composting pits with the three pit technique that allows to produce good compost after 45 days.” Indeed, the three pit composting technique is a very rapid procedure for compost production.

The first pit is filled according to the technical standards indicated by the FSCA programme. Some 15 days later its contents are transferred to the second pit, and the first one is filled again. After 15 days again, the contents of the second pit goes to the third pit; the contents of the first pit goes to the second and so forth. Fifteen days later, the contents of the third pit have become quality compost. If the process continues, every 15 days there will be 1200 kg of well composted manure.

Bréhima has two operating composting pits in his market garden. What this means is that he will have 2400 kg at his disposal every 15 days if he does not stop the composting process. In addition to his market garden, he has built other composting pits in his large field reserved for cereal production during the rainy season. According to M. Mohamed Ould Zéïni, Bréhima’s supervising officer and agent of the FSCA programme, properly composted manure has a very positive and direct impact on all enterprises.

The compost has no worms, unlike non-composted manure. Some of these worms can attack the roots of certain plants, such as shallot. Further, the compost improves soil texture and contributes to the conservation and humidity under the plants. The compost provides the plants with a great amount of nutrients that are essential to their good crop development.

Today, all eyes are on Mr. Sagara. Since the start of the PISA programme in Bandiagara, Bréhima in charge of a Rural Field School (FFS) initiated by the FSCA project. In this school he oversees 20 rural farmers, men and women, under the supervision of Mr. Mohamed Ould Zéïni. By now he has become a point of reference in his area. Filled with hope, Bréhima Sagara, the pioneer rural farmer of Kourou-Tangui, does not hide his satisfaction.

“I was the only market gardener of this village. And today people have begun to appreciate it. Five other people already have their small plots close to mine, impressed and attracted by the profits drawn from this market gardening, which pleases me.” Aren’t crop diversification and the adoption of innovating techniques good lessons?