Sardinia and Senegal allies in a project for the development of mussel farming: “Pétites Noires”. 

The objective is to improve the economic conditions of the populations of Senegal thanks to the development of a supply chain of excellence in mussel farming. The 375 workers of a Senegalese cooperative directly benefited.

It is, in short, the international cooperation project “Pétites Noires” who is currently stopping in Sardinia with a Senegalese delegation from the Municipality of Thiaroye sur Mer, in the Dakar region, where the COFLEC Cooperative Association intends to develop the supply chain of excellence in the mussel farming sector. The general objective is to promote emancipation, self-determination, female and youth well-being. A result that we want to achieve through the mussel farming and fish processing project which can contribute to combating the phenomenon of illegal emigration.

The project bears the signature of the Municipalities of Oristano, leader of the initiative, and Thiaroye sur Mer and is financed by the Italian Agency for Cooperation and Development within the framework of the "Reti al Lavoro Project" launched by the Piedmont and Sardinia Regions. The partners are the Sandalia ONLUS Association, the Nieddittas companies of Arborea and Varpesca of Olbia, the Sardegna Soccorso Oristano VIDA Odv Association, the Labint Association, MedSea Foundation, the COFLEC Association, the regional and departmental fisheries service and the Management management and exploitation of the seabed of Senegal.

Yesterday the Senegalese delegation visited the Nieddittas plant in Arborea for an initial exchange of information useful for developing good practices in Senegal. Present were the Mayor of Oristano Massimiliano Sanna and the Councilor for Productive Activities Valentina de Seneen, Yayi Bayam Diouf (President of the COFLEC cooperative association), Maria Giovanna Lai (SANDALIA ONLUS Association), Aly Cisse (Labint Association), Gianluigi Matta (VIDA Association Sardegna Soccorso), Mauro Coni and James Rombi (Sustainable Materials Engineering Department of the University of Cagliari), Giacomina Cadau and Mara Mangia (Sardegna Ricerche), Andrea Mura (International Cooperation Office of the Municipality of Oristano). The visit to the Arborea plant was led by Cristiana Mura (Nieddittas Quality and Food Safety Team) and Sara Fasolino (Nieddittas Marketing Team).

"The Municipality of Oristano had already developed international cooperation projects in the past, including one in Senegal on good practices for separate waste collection - explains Mayor Massimiliano Sanna -. Today, with the “Pétites Noires” project we aim to transfer the best sustainable mussel farming practices implemented in Sardinia to the African country. We do this through a territorial development project involving a cooperative of 375 women fishermen from the Dakar region. Thanks to the "Territorial Partnerships for Sustainable Development in Senegal" program, Sardinian mussel farming companies will be able to export good circular economy practices to Senegal. The path undertaken with the Nieddittas company, from this perspective, is fundamental for the success of the initiative due to the levels of excellence achieved by the Sardinian company".

The guests of the visit to the Nieddittas factories were able to learn first-hand about the different phases of mussel processing, from purification to selection up to their packaging. And of course, a tasting of the local product could not be missing, which also has a concrete value in the context of the project. “We are proud to open our doors to a working group that, thousands of kilometers away, has put mussel farming at the center of a project to "foster emancipation, self-determination and female and youth well-being through mussel farming and fish processing", contributing to "counteract the phenomenon of illegal emigration" observes Cristiana Mura of Nieddittas.

"Thanks to the partnership we want to propose sustainable solutions for marine production – adds the Councilor for Productive Activities of the Municipality of Oristano Valentina De Seneen -. The project will be carried out through information, communication, training and exchange initiatives with local operators, including the companies Nieddittas of Arborea and Varpesca of Olbia. The “Pétites Noires” project, thanks to the partnership component made up of Sandalia, Vida Oristano and MedSea Foundation, has the prospect of generating a positive impact at a regional level through the implementation of a series of initiatives linked to the reuse and recycling of production waste fish and agri-food supply chain and awareness-raising activities against food waste".

“Pétites Noires” has not only an economic, but above all a social value, enhancing the role of women in Senegal. The Senegalese Women's Collective Against Irregular Emigration (COFLEC) was founded by Madame Yayi Bayam Diouf. She, who like many others lived a sad story of irregular emigration having lost her only child while crossing the sea towards Europe in search of fortune, founded COFLEC together with other Senegalese women to offer a valid alternative to young Africans who risk their lives on journeys of hope, along the routes of emigration.

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