With the arrival of the project of “ Strengthening the shellfish industry in Senegal through compliance with sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS) » carried out by the FAO in collaboration with the Senegalese authorities, women from the south, oyster pickers, exhausted by long hours of traditional seafood collection, hope to earn more income from the sale of their shellfish.
In Diao Insa Ba, a village in the Sédhiou region (south), on the banks of the Casamance river, the day begins like a whisper. A group of women advance through the mangrove, their silhouettes blending into the humid landscape. Equipped with knives, machetes and woven baskets, they progress painfully, their feet sinking into the sticky mud. Each step is a negotiation with the earth to extricate ourselves from it.
Traditional songs resonate gently. In a small group, they skillfully remove the oysters attached to the roots of the mangrove trees.
A little further west, in the Ziguinchor region, the sun is not yet at its zenith over the Katakalousse mangrove, but the murky waters of the estuary are already coming to life. This morning, the departure from the fishing pier for the women shellfish gatherers has an air of modernity with the motorized canoes cutting through the waters. An unusual luxury for them, more accustomed to the leisurely pace of the oars.
Once at the harvest site, with their arms submerged up to their elbows, they delicately lift the roots of the mangrove trees and bring them back into the boats which gently sway to the rhythm of their movements.
The lapping of the water against the cockles and the metallic tinkling of the knives against the shells, falling one by one into the baskets, mingle with the discussions which are going well.
Further north, in Thiobon, still in the northwest of the Ziguinchor region, the landscape seems more open, but the effort remains the same. Here, women sink into waist-deep water.
The unusual roar of the canoes that brought them here has fallen silent. From time to time, they cling to the stems of the mangrove trees to keep their balance, before resuming, a few seconds later, the digging of oysters.
In these various places, these women perpetuate ancestral knowledge to provide for themselves and their families. But, behind these scenes which might seem picturesque, hides an implacable economic reality.
The hours spent in the water, the back bent, the muscles sore from repeated effort only result in paltry gains. A whole day of work in these trying conditions yields only a few crumbs.
« We have a real problem marketing our products. The oysters that we harvest are sold in the village because we do not have the means to transport them to the markets, and our locality being landlocked, this makes travel difficult. », confides Aminata Mané.
According to the latter, the pot of processed oysters is sold at 500 FCFA (0.79 US dollars) in the village, generating paltry income varying between 4,000 (6.33 dollars) and 6,500 francs (10.29 dollars) throughout the month.
Aminata Mané shares this bitter observation with her sisters from the GIE Karonguene Soul (Raising oysters, in Diola language), active in Thiobon. Its vice-president, Aissatou Diédhiou, reveals that it takes approximately “ 70 kg of fresh oysters to obtain 1 kg of dried oysters, sometimes sold for 5000 FCFA (around 8 dollars). »
In Tobor, a few dozen kilometers south of Thiobon, this precariousness, combined with the arduousness of the work, pushed several women from the Youlaye (oyster in Diola language) group to throw in the towel.
« We walk several kilometers to get here. After a day of work, we barely earn 1000 FCFA ($1.58) per person. Reason why many women left work », Testifies Mariama Diédhiou, president of the said group.
This situation results from the combination of several factors. In addition to the lack of means of motorized transport for harvesting oysters, infrastructure for the conservation and packaging of fresh products is lacking.
In the natural region of Casamance, Ziguinchor is the only locality to have an unloading center. Located in Katakalousse, it was to serve as a receptacle for all the production in the area.
Upgrading to SPS standards, hope for an entire industry
This economic equation, long frozen in permanent imbalance, should soon be a distant memory thanks to the project entitled “Strengthening the shellfish industry in Senegal through compliance with sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS)”, in order to promote the health safety of shellfish and their access to regional and international markets.
This program, implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the government of Senegal, benefits from financial support of 854,518 dollars (approximately 530 million FCFA) from the Fund for Standards Enforcement and Trade Development (STDF) of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
It mainly consists of taking monthly samples for laboratory analyzes on 50 production sites distributed in the regions of Saint-Louis, Louga, Thiès, Fatick, Kaolack, Kolda, Sédhiou and Ziguinchor, explains Abdalah.
The objective is to improve the exploitation of shellfish by making them more healthy and suitable for human consumption, while facilitating their export to growing markets thanks to their compliance with SPS standards.
This process follows a protocol established jointly by the National Aquaculture Agency (ANA), FAO and the Ministry of Fisheries, Maritime and Port Infrastructure (MPIMP). Ultimately, it will make it possible to classify sites according to their degree of contamination.
« Each class of site has a contamination threshold to respect. For example, if the Escherichia coli threshold is 300 or 330 grams per liter, the site is classified A. Beyond this threshold, the sites are classified B, C or D. This classification determines the necessary actions: for class A sites, oysters can be harvested and marketed directly; products from class B sites require prior purification or relaying before being placed on the market; class C sites have products requiring relaying for more than eight months or intensive purification; and class D sites are unusable », Explains Mariama Faye, head of the ANA regional office in Ziguinchor.
Started in January 2024, this work is progressing well and should allow Senegal to equip itself with a system capable of guaranteeing the compliance of its products with the health requirements of the Codex Alimentarius and international markets.
« The STDF project addresses an extremely important issue, namely the State’s capacity to certify and guarantee the health quality of shellfish. We are working on this because it is an important lever for promoting the sector. We noted the difficulty of artisanal processing where it takes 70 kg of fresh oysters to obtain 1 kg of processed oysters. If we can guarantee sanitary quality, we can validly sell 1 kg of fresh product, or a dozen, for 5,000 francs ($8) or more. This would make it possible to multiply by 70 the income of actors, mainly women. », underlines Dr Mamadou Ndiaye, project coordinator at FAO.
With an execution rate of “ 65 or even 75% “, there is hope. “ Based on the results obtained, we hope for a very good classification for the 50 sites studied, with many sites classified A or B », assures Mariama Faye.
Oyster farms, the other asset
Beyond certification, awareness of environmental preservation, particularly against the cutting of trees, accompanies this dynamic. In Katakalousse and Thiobon, oyster farming is modernizing with innovative parks where parallel rods in the water support garlands of shells, serving as natural collectors. More modern, fiberglass cups fulfill the same role.
On these substrates provided by the ANA, the oyster spat develop before being placed in bags for growth. This approach preserves the roots of mangrove trees, essential to the mangrove ecosystem, while improving women’s working conditions: the demountable structures can be transported to dry land for removal, reducing the time spent in the water.
« The ANA understands that, on oyster sites, farming infrastructure is essential. Most players now understand the importance of moving from traditional picking to modern infrastructure », notes Mariama Faye. However, she emphasizes that many GIEs struggle to access these infrastructures due to their high cost.
Given the success of these installations, other oyster farms should emerge, notably in Sédhiou, where Abdoulaye Diallo, head of the ANA regional office, plans to install one from June 2025.
The STDF project should also respond to the crucial training need expressed by women. Mariama Badji, from the NGO, is already training shellfish farmers in making, installing and cleaning garlands and bags. “ Women have improved their collection and processing techniques, while ensuring hygiene “, she says.
According to FAO data, in 2018, the natural production of bivalve shellfish was estimated at 10,860 tonnes, including mainly abalone, periwinkles and conchs (6,520 tonnes), as well as 692 tonnes of oysters and 135 tonnes of mussels ( FAO, 2020). Since 2010, aquaculture production of shellfish has increased significantly, reaching 1,350 tonnes in 2017, confirming the importance of certification to ensure the safety of products.
ARD/ac/Sf/APA
