Counter Culture

Senegal is one of the sub-saharan african countries most affected by climate change. Drought, overheating and desertification are impoverishing the land, making the agricultural development of this region impossible.

The agriculture is a very important sector for the country
but fails to guarantee food self-sufficiency
due to environmental conditions, migration
and some controversial production choices, including,
excessive insistence on peanuts cultivation.

Over the last few decades some populations of the senegalese region of Casamance have rediscovered the cultivation of Fonio, the oldest cereal in Africa.

A tiny seed that can grow in extreme weather conditions, with little water and without the use of fertilizers.

Fonio has a lower income than other cereals, such as rice, millet or maize, but it has a very important nutritional value for local populations.

The development of this seed is a tool to combat malnutrition and to mitigate the effects of global warming.

The documentary "Contro Coltura" made by Luca Puzzangara and produced by NutriAid recounts the difficulties and hopes of senegalese farmers, in the balance between the need to emigrate and the will to invest in the future of their land.