Fundació Fluidra Reasserts Commitment to Senegal for COVID-19
April 29, 2020-
KAG-25 project helps population in Karang become self-sufficient despite government-mandated mobility restrictions to contain the virus
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Local small farmers can leverage know-how and training in agriculture technologies to produce essential foodstuffs such as onions, tomatoes, capsicums, watermelon, millet, and eggs
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KAG-25 is not a response to the emergency but a long-term commitment
With COVID-19 also expanding across Africa, Fundació Fluidra continues to support the KAG-25 project to empower the population of Karang (Senegal) by providing them with know-how, training, and agriculture technologies. The project sees them learn the techniques they need to secure self-sufficiency, working on local crops geared at an efficient and sustainable model.
The pandemic is beginning to appear in Senegal and even though it involves isolated cases for now, the government has suspended schooling and international air travel and banned the intercity movement of people and traffic, making it harder to import food. This makes the KAG-25 project even more important for the local community since it lets them produce a wide variety of agricultural commodities including onions, tomatoes, capsicums, watermelon, millet, corn, peanuts, and eggs.
The project also contributes to the vocational training of young people from the Karang area, the modernization of the regional economy, the construction of farm infrastructure, the empowerment of vulnerable groups, and the improvement of water and sanitation services.
“The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic could hit Senegal hard, although it is tricky to gauge what the impact might be at present,” said Fundació Fluidra president Joan Planes. “The population is mostly young, but these countries have precarious healthcare systems and serious problems of public health. “I know our contribution in Senegal is modest but it is our belief that all the steps we take, no matter how small, are a mark of confidence in the future, a seed that can bear fruit and serve as a stimulus and an example. The contribution of Fundació Fluidra is not a response to a specific emergency but a long-term commitment.”
KAG-25 was set up in 2017 by the Karang farm school managed by the Piarists and Fundació Fluidra has invested about €500,000 in it so far. Besides this economic contribution, it has also donated know-how and infrastructure.
A second phase is planned to start in 2020, based on the distribution, transformation, and management of agricultural production to create a new distribution channel that can help small local farmers to better distribute their output.