* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
In 2012 countries across the Sahel region are once again facing a serious food crisis. This ecologically fragile region is becoming increasingly vulnerable to insufficient rainfall, and fluctuating livestock and food prices that are affecting millions of herders across this region of Africa.
The market garden set up with the help of Oxfam in Kassira, a village in Chad’s Guera district, runs from December to March/April.
Thirty-four families benefit from the garden markets in Kassira. For each of these families, the market garden generates 8,000 to 10, 000 fcfa per week. Here people grow lettuce, onions, herbs and carrots. Part of the yield is sold on the market, while what remains is consumed by the villagers.
"The market garden helps, but it is not enough, I cannot find all the food I need," Aramla Salim (second left) - a 40-year-old woman who is involved in the project - said.
