SUMMARY. FoodForestNetwork’s projects are attracting increasing attention in the media. It’s high time we shared this! Here’s a report from TV Senegal introducing the Ana Fonio project. Have a look at the video.
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About Ana Fonio
The Ana Fonio farm was founded in 2017 by Pape and Claudia and is a place of learning and a natural laboratory for regenerative agriculture in Senegal. On three hectares of formerly depleted land, a living ecosystem of food forests, vegetable gardens and integrated animal husbandry is being created here. We produce organic vegetables, fruits and medicinal herbs for the local market and share our knowledge through farm tours and workshops. Ana Fonio is a meeting place for people from the North and South who come together to learn, experiment and work on sustainable agriculture.
Watch the news item here
Transcript: Ana Fonio – TV Senegal, 26. February 2026
[Moderator ]
In Rufisque too, young people from several localities have taken part in permaculture training workshops at the Ana Fonio de Yenne farm. These environmentally friendly farming practices promote soil regeneration without the use of chemical fertilisers. The initiative has been welcomed by a number of mayors, who now wish to replicate this model in their own communities. Robert Diandy and Salla Samb tell us a little more.
[Robert Diandy]
Returning to traditional farming practices to better promote soil regeneration and productivity is the aim of the Ana Fonio association, based in Yenne, which trains young people in permaculture.
[Maïmouna Seck]
We’re setting up this agroforestry system here. We’re practising regenerative agriculture and providing training so that all farmers can find new ways—or rather, return to traditional ways—of farming. Because if we don’t preserve the land for the next generation, and with the challenges of climate change, it’s becoming increasingly difficult.
[Robert Diandy]
Like the government authorities, these elected representatives are convinced that the country’s development will depend on young people taking an interest in agriculture, provided the necessary resources are put in place to turn farmers into genuine agricultural entrepreneurs.
[Pape Momar Ngom]
Agriculture feeds its people. Because we have drought, we have climate change, but we also have soil depletion. And here, we have solutions to regenerate the soil and thus increase crop yields. Which means that this kind of project needs to be scaled up nationally, and then on an even larger scale. This should help develop the country, develop rural areas and thus combat illegal immigration.
[Salla Samb]
Like the government authorities, these elected representatives are convinced that the country’s development will depend on young people taking an interest in agriculture, provided the necessary resources are put in place to turn farmers into genuine agricultural entrepreneurs.