Apr. 10 – Rural development and food security, social protection according to gender, and economic development: these are the three priority areas on which the Italian Development Agency – known as Italian Development Cooperation – is working in Senegal under the coordination of Mariarosa Stevan, director of the Local Technical Unit (LTU) in Dakar. An agronomist, expert in cooperation with the Dgcs (Directorate-General for Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and engaged in this field for over 18 years, Mariarosa Stevan is responsible not only for Senegal, but also for Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Guinea Conakry, Mali and Mauritania. Since July 2012, the LTU has also expanded its expertise to other two priority countries, Burkina Faso and Niger. Stevan recently traveled to the latter, with the aim of making contact with the Niger authorities and confirm the Italian commitment in the form of facilitated soft loans and the contribution required of the Niger Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Integration. In this case, the co-financing of the Italian Cooperation will focus on the Tahoua region, with technical assistance and support infrastructure to facilitate marketing activities in agriculture.
The countries currently managed by the Dakar LTU have very different political and social situations: dispersed, with few connections and under the jurisdiction of two embassies (Dakar and Abidjan). “In the Dakar Cooperation Office, I am the only Dgcs official coming from Rome – said Stevan – I was particularly interested in the Sahel region but this was an important and demanding choice, not only from a professional point of view but at the family level.” In addition, continues Stevan “with respect to priority countries for Italy, currently 24 in total, including ten in Africa, four are part of the Dakar Local Technical Unit, such as Mali and Mauritania, in which Italy is equally committed to cooperation activities.” In Senegal, in particular “we participate in coordination activities with the government and donors: we started a few years ago to improve the effectiveness of aid to the country, both within the EU and with all major donors.” Specifically, the programs implemented by the Italian Cooperation in Senegal are part of a bilateral agreement agreed with the Government of Senegal.
Regarding rural development, the actions promoted by Italy rely on the support of the national plan for investment in agriculture, with the aim of increasing farm incomes of rural populations through diversification of agricultural production, dissemination of good practices, mainly irrigation, and improvement of technical skills. While programs for social protection and strengthening the role of women provide targeted interventions in Dakar and Kaolack. “In this area – says the director of the LTU Dakar – we try to increase the synergy between our programs and those of NGOs and local authorities, through regular coordination meetings to involve local representatives of the ministries of protection, such as the Ministry of the Woman, that is carrying out the important actions to promote the autonomy of the female household members. “
The role of women is also crucial in agricultural development programs, an area in which there is a strong female presence that must be helped in its path to independence. To take stock of the activities carried out with the different actors involved, the Italian Embassy in Dakar organized in December 2012, the second edition of Cooperation Day between Italy and Senegal, where the work carried out by the Italian Cooperation was presented.
