The project “Protection and Insertion of Migrant Labour and Environment in Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire”, known as MITSA, was launched on the margins of the COP15 conference on 14 May in Abidjan. This transnational project, funded by the Government of France and implemented by IOM, covers several themes: labour migration, urban and peri-urban agriculture, environment, and climate change.

The 18-month project (January 2022 – June 2023) intends to address the issue of the extent to which labour migration can contribute to urban resilience. Urban and peri-urban agriculture, through its functions and what it represents in terms of opportunities for migrants, is a relevant answer to this issue.

Environment and climate change dimensions are all the more important as the intervention areas targeted for this project in Senegal, namely Pikine and Rufisque, are located in the “Niayes” area, and form its urban part. This is the main agricultural area and primary site for horticultural products, which alone accounts for more than 80% of fresh vegetable national production. In addition to this important contribution to food availability and diversity, the area offers employment opportunities thanks to its proximity to the Dakar agglomeration and industrial fabric of Rufisque as well as surrounding areas (SOCOCIM, Diamniadio urban hub, ICS, etc.). This makes it an area that attracts migrants from inland regions of the country and the sub-region.

With the exponential urban growth of the Dakar region, the departments of Pikine and Rufisque have some “green lungs” which are almost islands in the middle of huge concrete buildings. This is the case of the “Technopole” (or Grands Niayes) of Pikine, which is gradually being consumed by the urbanization process.

Rapid urbanization is just one of the many factors threatening the survival of the “Niayes”, and thus increasing the vulnerability of the population to food insecurity, loss of livelihoods with all that this may entail from a social perspective, as well as destruction of the economic fabric, etc.

The MITSA project intends to build on in-depth research on urban and peri-urban agricultural areas in the departments of Pikine and Rufisque, in a bid to determine how they have evolved over the past two decades amid the various environmental and socio-economic factors. This important research phase will be the basis for pilot solutions that will be proposed for the survival and viability of these areas, which are a source of community resilience. To this end, IOM will engage relevant actors and stakeholders through a participatory process and contribution of all to achieve the objectives of this important project.

For more information, please contact Ousmane DIOP, Senior Project Assistant, MECC (ousmdiop@iom.int).