Agricultural stakeholders, researchers and community representatives met this Monday in Thiès to discuss the valorization of traditional knowledge as a lever for the resilience of food systems.

This meeting allowed participants to share experiences on local practices and ancestral knowledge that can contribute to food security and community adaptation to climate change.

According to the organizers, food systems, particularly in rural Africa, face multiple challenges related to climate change, natural resource degradation, socioeconomic shifts, and evolving markets. This undermines the ability of populations to sustainably produce, process, and consume healthy food.

The discussions thus focused on the need to build food systems capable of resisting, adapting and transforming themselves in the face of climatic, economic and social shocks.

For the participants, this resilience involves, in particular, the diversification of production, the sustainable management of natural resources and, above all, the promotion of local knowledge.

“Traditional knowledge constitutes an essential heritage for rural communities. It is based on a detailed knowledge of ecosystems acquired through experience and intergenerational transmission,” several speakers emphasized.

The discussions highlighted practices related to natural resource management, seed conservation, adaptation of agricultural and pastoral techniques, food processing, and observation of climatic phenomena.

Participants felt that this knowledge plays an important role in biodiversity conservation, food diversification, and strengthening community solidarity. It also contributes to preserving cultural identities and local nutritional practices.

However, the stakeholders gathered in Thiès regretted that this knowledge is still largely disregarded in public policies, development programs and research mechanisms.

According to them, modern approaches often favour standardised solutions that are sometimes far removed from the realities on the ground.

The stakeholders finally called for better recognition and transmission of this traditional knowledge, particularly to younger generations, in order to build more sustainable and resilient food systems.