Italians and Israelis Join Forces to Fight Hunger in Senegal
Italians and Israelis Join Forces to Fight Hunger in Senegal
November 15, 2012
BGU know-how is helping Israelis and Italians work together to help eradicate hunger and poverty in the African nation of Senegal.
Senegal is located in the Sudano Sahel region south of the Sahara, an area that receives between 300 and 800 milimeters of water per year. The farmers in this region primarily use an agro-pastoral subsistence system, in which farmers grow grains and staple crops during the short rainy seasons, and animals then graze on crop residues.
The program in Senegal is based on BGU Prof. Dov Pasternak’s Africa Market Garden concept, developed in 1999, which provides farmers with the tools to improve their livelihoods. It includes a variety of irrigation systems that allow farmers to make the most of the water available to grow the most crops.
Prof. Pasternak is the director of the International Center for Research in the Semi-Arid Tropics and has been dedicated to helping African farmers for decades.
“Without the means to purchase food and with ancient soils leeched of nutrients, the Senegalese small farmers need an irrigation solution that is practical for them,” says Prof. Pasternak. “A drip irrigation system and its accessories act as the foundational hardware for this solution.”
Read more on The Jerusalem Post Web site >>
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About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
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