Dakar, Nov 25 (APS) – The Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock, Mabouba Diagne, suggested, Monday, to the members of the National Association for the Intensification of Dairy Production to set up a community agricultural cooperative to more easily access land and develop forage activities, among others.
“This cooperative will begin with a pilot phase of 500 hectares, with the ambition of increasing to 2,000 hectares, and then to 20,000 hectares,” he said.
Mr. Diagne signed an agreement between the National Association for the Intensification of Dairy Production in Senegal (ANIPL) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock as part of the policy for the acquisition of animals with high milk potential.
“At a rate of 14 million CFA francs per hectare, we are budgeting approximately 7 billion CFA francs to carry out this pilot phase of 500 hectares,” explained the minister.
He reported the availability of 3,000 ha in the commune of Ngnith (Dagana) and 28,000 ha in the Agricultural Community Estates (DAC).
Mr. Diagne noted that Senegal imports the equivalent of 100 million euros of milk each year, which would amount to between 65 and 70 billion CFA francs annually.
According to him, the country needs “280 billion FCFA” to ensure its food sovereignty in milk. Between 450 and 500 hectares are also needed to produce the tonnage needed to feed around 1,250 cattle and 1,550 cattle during the winter, he said.
He noted that Senegal still needs 55,000 dairy cows to meet its milk needs.
The minister assured that the financial concerns of ANIPL can find solutions from technical and financial partners such as the World Bank, through its private window AFC, the African Development Bank, through already approved projects, but also through through export credits.
He recalled that the total number of dairy heifers imported since the start of this project in 2017 is around “5,746 dairy cows”.
The president of ANIPL, Mamadou Ba, was particularly delighted with the signing of the convention. He indicates that his structure is ”resolutely committed to a dynamic of professionalization with activities to strengthen the capacities of its members and promote forage crops”.
According to him, ”it is established that the sustainability of the achievements of dairy heifer import operations remains conditional on perfect control of forage feeding”.
CS/OID/SKS
