Bow and Soringo, villages in the Matam region (north), are home to wheat cultivation test projects, the results of which, deemed satisfactory by agronomists, encourage the development of the cultivation of this cereal in Senegal.
The Senegal River Delta Land Development and Exploitation Company (SAED) declares that it wants to popularize wheat cultivation in the Matam region, following tests carried out in these two villages in the Kanel department. The SAED considers the results of the tests “satisfactory”.
In his field, in Bow, a village located 30 km from Matam, Aboubakry Bâ has developed an area of one hectare and cultivates wheat there, a first in the Matam region.
His field and that of another in the village of Soringo were chosen for the test phase of a wheat production program, at the initiative of the SAED.
Mr. Bâ is preparing to finish work started three months ago. But due to the lack of a combine harvester, he will still have to wait. Because of this setback, stalks of wheat are still stored on a tarpaulin, to be hulled.
With a scarf around his neck and a striped hat on his head, Aboubakry Bâ explains that the culture lasted ninety days. He hopes that his harvest will be around five tonnes.
”We tested wheat cultivation for the first time in the Matam region, in Bow and Soringo, on an area of two hectares. We find that it is very feasible. Our ambition is to set up a wheat growing program in the region,” said Moussa Mbodj, a SAED engineer, during a visit to the Bow field on Sunday.
The SAED wheat program stems from economic difficulties caused by the war between Russia and Ukraine, where a good part of Senegalese imports of the said cereal came from, according to Mr. Mbodj.
”The main thing was to start production. This is what we did at a time that was not appropriate, because the wheat growing calendar extends from November to December. It was in January that we started the cultivation, which lasted ninety days, for a yield of five tonnes,” explains the SAED engineer.
Despite the delay, ”the results were […] satisfactory”, he observes, estimating that the yield would be better if the wheat had been grown in November and December.
In Moussa Mbodj’s opinion, it is time to move on to the next steps, including marketing, processing and raising awareness among producers.
”Producers are aware of it, the land exists and is suitable for growing wheat. It remains to develop the segments of the chain, including the availability of seeds,” points out the engineer.
Moussa Ngom, an agricultural advisor to the SAED, remembers the doubts which assailed the managers of this national company responsible for agriculture, during the launch of the test program. Above all, he notes the lack of information relating to wheat, a cereal widely consumed in Senegal but little known in the country.
”We must encourage producers to grow wheat, the most consumed cereal in Senegal after rice. It is important to start growing wheat to achieve food self-sufficiency in the country,” underlines Mr. Ngom.
For the test phase, SAED used an Egyptian variety called Misri 1, which made it possible to produce two types of wheat, soft and hard, with which we can make bread and pasta.
