“The challenge in Khombole isn’t a lack of resources, but rather how to make the most of our land and water.”
These words sum it all up. They capture not only the spirit of the day, but also the founding principle behind AgriFemmes; the communities of Khombole don’t need handouts; they need systems capable of harnessing the resources they already have.
In April, we spent a day in Khombole for a milestone we had been anticipating for months. The Community Innovation Hub formalized its partnership with the Khombole Women’s Cooperative and the Khombole Mayor by signing memorandums of understanding that mark the beginning of a new phase of the AgriFemmes program on the ground.
Scope of the agreement and importance
The signing of these agreements is not merely an administrative formality; it is a public commitment: a commitment by three institutions that have come together to work toward a common goal, namely transforming Khombole’s agricultural potential into a sustainable economic success driven by women.
For the Community Innovation Hub, this formalization reflects our deep conviction that sustainable development must be rooted in local ownership. A program without institutional roots is merely an activity. These agreements ensure that what we are building in Khombole belongs to Khombole.
For the Mayor of Khombole, Mr. Magueye Boye, this is a strong signal that municipal leadership is ready to invest its authority and its land in support of women farmers, who have long been the backbone of local food production.
For the women’s cooperative, it is recognition that their leadership, their knowledge, and their work are not merely contributions to a project. They are the project.
A day in the field
The signing ceremony was just one moment in a day that was both strategic and deeply rooted in the realities on the ground.
We visited the boreholes and solar irrigation systems that form the technical backbone of the pilot. These infrastructures were designed by students from the Dakar American University of Science and Technology (DAUST), whose ingenuity has provided the program with some of its most promising tools. To see young African engineers designing solutions for Senegalese women farmers: this is exactly the ecosystem that the Community Innovation Hub is here to develop.
We also hosted a delegation from the German Embassy, who came to visit the field and witness the leadership of the women in the cooperative.
And what they saw was striking. The women of the cooperative spoke about their role in land management, decision-making, and guiding the work. This is significant; in too many development projects, women are merely beneficiaries. In AgriFemmes, they are the architects.
The program: What AgriFemmes is building in Khombole
The Khombole pilot project is at the core of AgriFemmes’ vision for climate-resilient, women-led agriculture. On 20 hectares of communal land, the program focuses on three closely related priorities:
Infrastructure and Technology: Rehabilitate and optimize existing drip and solar irrigation systems, and integrate the Smart Irrigation System (SIS), an AI-powered tool that allows female farmers to monitor soil moisture and irrigate their crops remotely from their phones.
Economic Transformation: The goal is structural change, shifting from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture. This means higher yields, market access, and predictable, growing incomes. The program is explicitly designed “by women, for women”, meaning every economic gain benefits the cooperative and the households within it.
Climate resilience: Khombole faces the same pressures as the rest of the Sahel in unpredictable rainfall, heat stress, and soil degradation. AgriFemmes incorporates strategies for the dry season, including the use of climate-adapted seeds and innovative crops capable of withstanding the increasing challenges that climate change is imposing on the region.
Looking Ahead
The signing of the Khombole agreements marks a beginning, not an end. These agreements set the framework; what matters now is implementation: turning the commitments made on paper into reality on the ground, season after season.
The Community Innovation Hub will continue to work alongside the cooperative and the city council to implement the program, deploy the technology, and build the capacity that will enable this model to function and grow independently.
Because, ultimately, that is AgriFemmes’ goal. Not to create dependency. Not to set up a project whose existence depends on us. But a system that the women of Khombole can take ownership of, lead, and pass on.
To learn more about AgriFemmes, click here.
