Binta's Thriving Farm a Beacon of Hope
A Mother’s Journey from Struggle to Success | Binta’s Story
From Struggle to Strength: Binta’s Journey to Food Security
At 41, Binta carries the strength of a woman who has weathered many storms. As a mother of four and the breadwinner of her household, her husband being a Person with Disability (PWD), she has long shouldered responsibilities that would overwhelm many women-headed households. Farming was her only lifeline, yet for years she worked while relying on borrowed implements. Each season becomes a struggle, and at one point, she almost gave up. “It pained me to always be among the last to cultivate. I had no tools of my own, so I wait, sometimes for days until others finished, when the rains had almost passed.”
Her turning point came when ActionAid International The Gambia stepped into her life. With support worth about $480, Binta received simple but transformative farm tools: a sine hoe, a seeder, a donkey, and a 50kg bag of groundnut seeds with training in Climate Resilient Sustainable Agriculture (CRSA), which she describes as “life changing.” For the first time, Binta begins her farm work on time, no more borrowing tools and no more late planting.
The impact exceeded her expectations. Her groundnut harvest increased from just 3 bags to 15 bags in a single season. Her millet farm also flourished. With a joyful smile, she recalls, “The millet I harvested lasted for 10 months. Before, it would finish in three months at most.”
Driven by her CRSA training and a desire to diversify her family’s livelihood, Binta decided to purchase a water-pumping machine, for a year-round vegetable production, providing her with a steady income while enhancing her family’s food security. This new income stream brought not only financial stability, but also dignity and pride in the community.
Today, Binta’s household stands among the most food-secure families in her village, an inspiring transformation from the hardship she once faced. Her children no longer worry about their next meal, and she no longer fears the lean seasons. “I used to think farming was a burden,” she says softly, “but now it is my strength.”