Marème Niang Belko knows first-hand the challenge of producing crops in arid Senegal, where only 20 percent of the land is arable, according to a 2010 Work Bank report, and less than 700 mm of precipitation is recorded annually. As a farmer’s daughter from St. Louis, northern Senegal, she cultivated tomatoes, potatoes, and rice right alongside her father and her six siblings in the family’s sandy, coastal fields, where daily temperatures can reach up to 45 degrees Celsius.
When I decided to study agriculture, my father strongly supported me because he wanted an advisor in the family,” laughs Belko, who graduated with a BSc in agricultural engineering from ENSA in 2004-one of only four women in her class of 28 students. “I wanted to help him, and other Senegalese farmers, especially the women.
Field of Research
Studying agro-physiological traits of crops, including pearl millet and sesame, to improve tolerance to drought under the West African Agricultural Productivity Program.