The Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock has begun a monitoring tour in the Kédougou region to assess the performance of the 2024-2025 agricultural campaign and encourage the momentum towards food sovereignty.

Generous sunshine, a lush green landscape, and fertile soil to boot. The Kédougou region hosted the first leg of the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Livestock's field trip. Dr. Mabouba Diagne went there to assess the concrete impact of current agricultural policies and witness the mobilization of producers. In Taïfa, a village in the commune of Dembou, more than 177 hectares were cultivated this year by family farmers, including 32 hectares supervised by the Senegalese Institute of Agricultural Research (ISRA) for the production of certified corn seeds.

Standing in the middle of a cornfield and facing the farmers, the minister was keen to highlight the efforts of these soldiers of the land: "These beautiful plots of land do us proud. They prove that our young people, instead of setting off on an adventure, have chosen to stay in their land to feed the country. This is exactly the spirit we must encourage." On the ground, momentum alone is not enough. Material constraints such as insufficient equipment, a shortage of storage sheds, and a lack of threshing stations persist. Faced with this, Dr. Mabouba Diagne called for a collective response: "177 hectares farmed with a single tractor is not enough. The state will support producers to strengthen equipment and rural infrastructure."

Yields are increasing significantly

According to the authority, the results of the 2024-2025 campaign reflect an agricultural recovery. The minister thus hailed "record potato and rice production." These bright prospects are the result of a strong commitment from the Senegalese government. Locally produced fertilizers are said to have contributed greatly to this dynamic, with 105,000 tons of urea and NPK distributed by the Chemical Industries of Senegal (ICS).

"These achievements confirm that we can feed Senegal through work and solidarity. Together, producers, researchers, and authorities, we are advancing our food sovereignty," declared the head of Senegalese agriculture.

Dr. Mabouba Diagne recalled that Kédougou has significant agricultural assets, particularly in poultry farming, greenhouse horticulture, arboriculture, aquaculture, and the development of the Sambangalou dam, whose irrigable potential exceeds 40,000 hectares. This optimism was shared by local authorities. The mayor of Dembou summed up their state of mind while praising the authorities' responsiveness: "We received quality seeds and fertilizers on time. What we remember is that development must come from within ourselves."

Family farming, a widespread and promising form

At the end of his visit to Dembou, Dr. Diagne instructed his services to support the creation of a community agricultural cooperative in partnership with ISRA, the National Agricultural Advisory Agency (ANCA) and regional programs.

"Organize yourselves quickly. The State will be at your side to make Kédougou a driving force for national food sovereignty," he insisted.

The ministerial tour continued in Samékouta, where women farm 45 hectares of land, producing an estimated 150 tons of paddy rice from 42 hectares of sown land. This achievement did not leave their minister indifferent. Dr. Mabouba Diagne congratulated them and made numerous promises. He began by asking his teams to group these producers into a cooperative, expand the cultivated areas, and provide them with a Cooperative for the Use of Agricultural Equipment (CUMA). In addition, the deployment of a harvester to assist them with the harvest is also planned.

Oil and cotton production: Senegal weaves its web

The ministerial visit then took the delegation to Syllacounda, where the Multilocal Experimental Antenna (AMEX) is located. In this area, Sodefitex, in collaboration with the Ministries of Agriculture and Trade, is experimenting with sunflower cultivation. This move aims to reduce the cost of vegetable oil imports, which remains high. For information, in 2023, Senegal imported more than 128,000 tons of palm oil from Malaysia, as well as soybean, rapeseed, cottonseed, and sunflower oils.

Alongside oil, there is cotton. Responding to a question from Dr. Mabouba Diagne about the production gap for this plant fiber between Senegal and African champions Benin and Mali, respectively, the general manager of Sodefitex, Pape Fata Ndiaye, explains: "The first factor is climatic. Benin benefits from much more favorable agroclimatic conditions than Senegal. What we experience in Senegal in terms of mild climate is the Azores High, which pushes the intertropical front southward, delaying the arrival of the rains."

He added: "When we gained independence, each country decided on its agricultural specialization. In Senegal, it was peanuts. In Burkina Faso and Mali, it was cotton." Regarding Benin, the Director General also has a significant factor: "Benin's success is linked to the clearly stated political will of President Talon, a cotton industrialist, who gave this sector all the necessary institutional support."

According to a technical note from SODEFITEX (Société de Développement et des Fibres Textiles), the cotton sector is expected to see considerable growth during the 2025-2026 campaign. Sown areas are expected to increase by 70% and reach 21,355 hectares, farmed by 16,151 producers grouped within 1,251 Cotton Producers' Groups. According to the note, this rebound demonstrates "the massive return of producers to cotton, after several difficult years marked by the parasitic crisis of the jassids." Maintaining the average yield of 1,259 kg/ha, production could reach 25,000 tonnes of seed cotton, an increase of more than 60%. In Kédougou, sown areas peak at 4,100 hectares (+74%), for an expected production of 5,600 tonnes and a yield close to 1,400 kg/ha.

Reforms to increase cotton production

In response to these findings, Dr. Mabouba Diagne outlined his department's vision: "We need perfect control over water, organizing producers into community agricultural cooperatives to better train them." He also discussed the creation of climate-smart seeds to address the effects of climate change and reduce dependence on rain.

The minister gave the example of a Malian farmer who would achieve yields of 4 tonnes per hectare thanks to drip irrigation and the use of modern varieties, while Senegal's yields are limited to 1.5 tonnes per hectare. He therefore called for "increasing the number of cotton growers through the formalization of cooperatives, land reform, and training for farmers."

“Hello Tractor”, a local response to mechanization

In Dar Salam, in the commune of Salémata, the minister discovered an initiative supported by the Agricultural Development and Rural Entrepreneurship Support Program (PADAER 2).

Dubbed "Allô Tracteur," this innovation is based on an agricultural service delivery system led by young entrepreneurs. Yoro Ba, head of the program's rural entrepreneurship component, explained the model: "Allô Tracteur is based on promoting the delivery of agricultural services. Young people receive a complete kit: a tractor, a 24-disc offset cultivator, and a trailer. They can thus offer services to producers in the area."

The initial investment, estimated at 40 million CFA francs, will create sustainable jobs: "On average, 10 to 11 permanent jobs and more than twenty temporary ones are generated."

PADAER 2 has already established thirteen CUMAs in four intervention regions. Thanks to this support, "the area under cultivation has increased from 600 to 1,182 hectares," the manager said, adding that this system contributes to "increasing production, consumption, and marketing."

Kédougou, an emerging agricultural hub

Closing this first day, Dr. Mabouba Diagne launched an appeal to the youth of Kédougou:

"Kédougou must not only be a mining area, but a true agricultural hub. You have everything you need here: land, water, climate, and youth." For the minister, the future of Senegal rests on the constant commitment of its sons and daughters: "The Senegal we are building will be built with the Senegalese men and women, through their work, their faith, and their determination."