After caring for these eggplants for weeks, this cooperative member will be able to take some of the harvest home to her family.
Thanks to seasonal rains, access to supplemental water, and agricultural training, the cooperative garden in Ouarkhokh is thriving! Cooperative members are busy transplanting seedlings and harvesting other crops that are now ready to eat.
After cooperative members take a share of the produce home, the group will sell any remaining eggplants in local markets. Proceeds will fund the purchase of seeds for the next season’s crop.
The Ouarkhokh cooperative took advantage of recent rains to transplant tomato, okra, sweet potato, eggplant, and pepper seedlings. With proper water management and guidance from CREATE! agricultural technicians, cooperative members can continue to care for crops after the end of the rainy season.
The cooperative harvested and sold hundreds of watermelon this year.
Following its successful watermelon crop last month, the Ouarkhokh cooperative has also been harvesting ripe eggplant, okra, peppers, and tomatoes. The cooperative’s most recent harvest included nearly 1,000 pounds of eggplant! In addition, women picked 73 pounds of okra, 60 pounds of peppers, and 90 pounds of tomatoes during the month of September.
Peppers like these are an important part of the Senegalese diet.
With training and careful management of water resources, the Ouarkhokh cooperative will ensure that their garden continues to produce an abundant harvest throughout the year!