Today’s post is written by Seby DeVroome, a CAMA worker in Senegal. For seven years, he has worked with a group of farmers in Northern Senegal through the Small Plot Irrigation Project.

The new growing season has begun.

The farmers that I work in Senegal are getting fields ready for their nurseries. As usual, many of them will be growing onions, but I’m happy to say many are growing other vegetables this year, which should increase their income.

A big highlight of my last visit was learning the farmers, who are part of the Small Plot Irrigation project, will seed their nurseries at the same time. This is huge because it also means everyone will harvest at the same time. They can hire a semi-truck to transport their goods to a bigger city where the prices are higher.

Up until now, they have always relied on a middleman who gives poor prices and makes a lot of money off their work. This is a big step in the right direction.

One of the farmers is Larry*. While many farmers in this area only grow some beans and peanuts during the rainy season, Larry had other plans. He decided to grow tomatoes. He and his sons worked hard and made around $2,000 in four months. That’s almost unheard of. He just installed some basins in his field and this year will expand his field almost three-fold. I can’t wait to see how much he makes.

More and more people in the village are seeing what these farmers are doing and have begun to copy their farming methods. At times, they’re even coming up with their own innovative ideas.

We are slowly seeing a movement taking place. People no longer have their heads down but are looking up and seeing the potential future.

I love bringing hope to people who often don’t have any. Jesus did that too. I hope that many of you will be able to bring hope to those around you.

*Name changed.