Erquy. At age 21, the student goes to help farmers in Senegal

Nathan Bouguet, a student in a school of agronomy, takes off on Monday, July 23, near Dakar. The inhabitant of Erquy (Côtes-d'Armor) will help farmers in a sustainable and organic approach.

After studying at the IUT of Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d'Armor), Nathan Bouguet chose to join the agronomy school of Dijon, where he began an engineering course.

His first year, which has just passed, has been fruitful. The young Réginéen set up a mission project in Senegal with four other students. "It was necessary to rely on an associative partner already established there", the Village Pilote association. This association welcomes street children in its training center, on the shores of Lake Rose, near Dakar.

"The association owns farmland that it is hard to value because the plantations are attacked by parasites. His goal is to become self-sufficient to feed the children. " Nathan explains.

Food and Pharmacopoeia

With their teachers, engineering students did research to find leads.

" We We looked for combinations of cultures that would reduce parasites, a biological and sustainable solution. We will also create a plant barrier around the plots, which will play a role in protecting against the wind, but also to attract insects favorable to pollination. Our goal is to create an agrosystem to promote plantations for food and pharmacopoeia.

A kitty to support the project

On Monday, Nathan will fly to Senegal. To carry out this project, it was necessary to find some financing. "I asked Lamballe Land and Sea, who agreed to finance a third of my plane ticket and we launched crowdfunding online.

On the spot, the young people will work in connection with other students of a business school of Lille, the Skema, who take care of the financial side.

"That is an ethical project, which must not generate dependence ", insists Nathan. He knows that the constraints of his years of study may not allow him to return to Senegal. "The project will probably take three years to get results, we will pass the baton to the first year students, next year, and we will monitor its evolution closely. "