The experience I am sharing with you here takes place in Tapoga, a village northwest of Benin, about 700 km from Cotonou.

This village is characterised by having a long dry season during when no agricultural activity is possible without irrigation. It is in the insecurity red-zone, where people have an unbalanced, restricted diet and households have a very low purchasing power.

Paradoxically, Tapoga has assets and potential which, if recognised, could change its image.

With our partner BUPDOS, we initiated market gardening in the dry season to improve the diet of households by increasing their consumption of vegetables and increasing their income.

We initially created a 1-hectare market garden site;later, we enlarged this to 1.5 ha due to increased interest to allow more households to benefit from it.

We have trained households in the technology of ecological agricultural production and conservation.

To ensure the continuity of our achievements, we have trained local groups, which currently act as knowledge-banks who train and guide their peers.

The techniques taught are simple, appropriate to the communities and based on locally available inputs.

Today, several households are diversifying their diets and selling their surplus production. We can cite as an example Mrs Adiza TCHETEKOUA, a beneficiary of this program, who sold more than 100,000 F of vegetables last season in addition to those she consumed herself.

Market gardening is gradually improving the lives of households in Tapoga, which proves that a paradigm shift in poverty is possible, even in the most hostile environments.

It is enough to identify the right means and couple them with fierce determination.

ODD : 1, 2, 3,8,13

This English translation has been possible thanks to the PerMondo project: Free translation of website and documents for non-profit organisations. A project managed by Mondo Agit. Translator: Paul Fisher. Proofreader: Scarlett Newton.