An Endogenous Alternative to Development:
The Example of Niahène, Senegal

Since the 1980s, sub-Saharan African countries have implemented Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) proposed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. These neoliberal reforms curtailed state powers, liberalized markets, and privatized key agricultural institutions, leaving them increasingly dependent on international dynamics.

In Senegal, family farming—the backbone of the economy—has progressively deteriorated, with direct consequences for women. Despite their pivotal role in agricultural production, women have faced widening social and economic gaps. As the state progressively retreated, female farmers began organizing into legally recognized groups to pool resources and support each other in a framework of solidarity-based economics. Among these, the GIE (Economic Interest Group) is the most common form of association, granting women legal status, enabling income-generating activities, and facilitating access to credit—though this remains challenging due to prohibitively high interest rates.

In the Kaffrine region, the village of Niahène, home to thirteen thousand inhabitants, relies primarily on agriculture, particularly peanut cultivation. In this rural area, women—both farmers and non-farmers—have established numerous GIEs, creating a virtuous model of financial autonomy while reducing social and economic inequalities.

The women of Niahène engage in collective actions within their GIEs, focusing on two key activities: the management of community gardens and internal savings and credit groups.

Community gardens are managed collaboratively, sharing all tasks from labor to planting, harvesting, and sales. Thanks to rainwater collection basins and, in some cases, wells, these gardens can be cultivated year-round, bypassing the region’s seasonal climate. This ensures sustenance for families and communities while generating income through local market sales, fostering women’s economic and social autonomy.

Over the past year, the women managing these gardens have established the Bokk Jomm Federation (“Being Together with Courage” in Wolof), solidifying a municipal decision granting them a 2-hectare plot of land. Federation membership offers numerous benefits: access to individual or communal plots, internal credit systems, price harmonization, agricultural knowledge sharing, and enhanced financing opportunities. This strengthens women’s unity and addresses systemic inequalities through political and social governance strategies.

The internal savings and credit groups, self-managed and democratic, operate as an alternative to conventional economic practices. Members contribute weekly to a communal fund, which provides microloans for income-generating activities. At the end of the year, the fund is redistributed, with accumulated interest equitably shared among members. This approach prioritizes the common good over profit, reflecting local contexts and fostering women’s empowerment, reducing gender inequalities, and improving socio-economic conditions.

The Niahène model represents an endogenous, resilient development strategy that challenges neoliberal reforms and liberalization efforts, such as Africa’s emerging Green Revolution. Community-led initiatives like Niahène’s enable collective territorial management, improving women’s socio-economic conditions and narrowing social and economic disparities.