The Senegalese government has announced a record budget of 130 billion CFA francs for the next agricultural campaign, with the aim of ensuring food sovereignty through massive support for producers, better accessibility to inputs and structuring of strategic sectors.
The Senegalese government laid on Tuesday, April 15, the foundations for an ambitious 2025-2026 agricultural campaign, with an unprecedented budgetary envelope of 130 billion FCFA, around 226 million US dollars. Chaired by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, the meeting of the Interministerial Council on the agricultural production campaign is part of the dynamics of food sovereignty advocated by the President of the Republic, Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Breeding (MASAE), 63 billion FCFA (US $ 109 million) will be devoted to the acquisition of fertilizers and 42.2 billion FCFA (US $ 72 million) to the production and distribution of certified seeds. The rest of the budget aims to strengthen agricultural infrastructure, improve logistics and facilitate the marketing of products.
To meet the many constraints in the sector, including low performance, input deficit, limited access to agricultural equipment and marketing difficulties, several structuring measures have been decided.
The government undertakes to settle as soon as possible the arrears due to agricultural operators, in order to restore the confidence of the actors and streamline trade relations. It also intends to strengthen seed certification, to guarantee producers of quality varieties and improve yields.
An innovative program called “Allo tractor” will be launched, in order to facilitate access to motorized agricultural equipment, in particular for medium -sized farms and landlocked areas.
In addition, the government plans to deploy a thousand young volunteers across the territory to animate the rural world, support producers and ensure local supervision throughout the campaign.
-Support for community agricultural cooperatives will also be strengthened, with an envelope of FCFA 10.8 billion (US $ 17 million) which will be directly allocated to them to stimulate collective production, pooling of resources and community management of agricultural resources.
In order to meet the financing needs of the sector, the authorities have decided to further involve commercial banks and microfinance institutions in order to guarantee more fluid access to Crédit Agricole, especially for small operators.
A particular emphasis is placed on the structuring of priority sectors, namely rice, corn, horticulture, banana and cashew. For each of these sectors, specific measures will be implemented, ranging from the local transformation of products to intelligent management of surpluses, with a view to lasting self -sufficiency.
« Our vision of agriculture aligns with the notion of economic and food sovereignty to which we aspire, by consuming what we cultivate “Said Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, recalling the paradigm shift launched last year by the government, with the decision to temporarily suspend peanut exports. “” From now on, we will only export the surpluses “, He insisted, adding that agriculture is” the first priority of the government “.
For his part, Minister Mabouba Diagne invited all the actors to approach this campaign ” With method and innovation ». According to him, this dynamic must be articulated around three fundamental axes: the consolidation of achievements, better targeting of beneficiaries and a strengthening of agricultural equipment.
The distribution of inputs will start from April 25, marking the operational kick -off of a strategic campaign for the food future of Senegal.
ODL/AC/APA
