Rural weekly markets and the dynamics of time, space and community in Senegal

Abstract

This article examines reciprocal relations among Wolof small farmers in Senegal after the emergence of rural weekly markets (loumas) and the implementation of neoliberal policies in the 1980s. Contrary to the notion that markets are a force of social dissolution, new trading practices and free market policies have not weakened community relations among small farmer neighbours and kin. Rather, the spatial and temporal patterning of loumas has served to strengthen intra-community bonds. Farmers have, since the formation of loumas, limited their travel beyond their home zones. While at loumas they interact avidly with extralocal merchants, they have not allowed outsiders to settle permanently in local villages. Furthermore, because loumas occur only once a week, farmers continue to benefit from daily, multiplex interactions with one another. After analysing the spatial and temporal organisation of loumas, this article looks at specific examples of small farmers augmenting their economic security during a period of economic restructuration by innovating new modes of reciprocal exchange with one another.

Has it Pierced or Yet To Pierce? A Critical Analysis of E-Retailing’s Penetration into Rural India using Extended Technology Acceptance [TAM2]

“…In loumas, farmers interact voraciously with the extra-local merchants, who are usually considered as outsiders and are not allowed to permanently settle in local villages. And since, loumas occur only once a week, farmers benefit a lot from daily, multi-dimensional interactions with each other (Perry, 2000). The weekly markets are generally the outcomes of natural progress whereby certain villages and cities specialize in their functions and become commercial hubs for their surrounding areas.…”

Religious Motivations for Local Economic Development in Senegal

“…While numerous other Senegalese faithbased groups carry out social projects, Muslim groups are in the majority, reflecting Senegal's Muslim-majority population. Research on Senegalese Muslim groups' social projects has included special focus on education (Leichtman 2009;Ware 2009), health (Foley 2010), agriculture (Patterson 1999;Perry 2000), and women's empowerment (Leichtman 2009;Sieveking 2007). Education is often the most prominent focus, whether specifically Quranic schools or schools that provide Quranic education alongside other academic subjects.…”

“…In 1984, Senegal adopted the World Bank's policy of shifting economic burdens of agriculture from the state to local organizations (Duruflé 1995:74;Lecomte 1992: 88). Senegal's structural-readjustment policies reduced funding for education, health care, and agriculture, and thus eliminated state-sponsored agricultural cooperatives (Ka and van de Walle 1992;Patterson 1999;Perry 2000). In part because of this change in state economic strategies, and in part because of the early 1980s drought, agricultural incomes fell during this decade, discouraging local production and increasing the need for foreign food aid (Quiroga 1990).…”

“…In part because of this change in state economic strategies, and in part because of the early 1980s drought, agricultural incomes fell during this decade, discouraging local production and increasing the need for foreign food aid (Quiroga 1990). In the place of state-dominated enterprises, communities and private businesses organized and the informal sector grew, relying on regional and international marketplaces instead of the state alone (Patterson 1999;Perry 2000).…”

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“…Development experts may focus on, say, the 2015 Millennium Development Goal targets or recommended annual growth rates, whereas local politicians may be more concerned with election cycles and young people may be preoccupied with prospective marriages or land leases. Understanding and relating these different temporalities is essential in order to determine and prioritize relevant topics, concepts and actions (Perry, 2000).…”