Dakar, Nov 26 (APS) – The government has set the price of a kilogram of peanut at 305 CFA francs for the new marketing campaign for the said agricultural product, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko announced Tuesday in Dakar.
The price of peanuts per kilogram has increased by 25 francs compared to its level during the previous harvest marketing campaign. It was 280 CFA francs.
Speaking at an interministerial council devoted to the new marketing campaign for agricultural products (2024-2025), the Prime Minister assures that the State of Senegal has gone beyond the proposal made by the National Interprofessional Peanut Committee ( CNIA).
The CNIA, which brings together peanut producers, had proposed to the government to set the price per kilogram at 290 CFA francs, according to Ousmane Sonko.
”We were forced to proceed to arbitration taking into account the interests of producers and oil producers,” he said.
According to the Prime Minister, the government plans to set the price of a kilogram of peanut at 500 CFA francs in the coming years.
He points out that ”the method of calculating the groundnut floor price is based on variables more representative of current economic realities”.
The Secretary General of the Government, the Ministers of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock, Finance and Budget, Economy, Planning and Cooperation, Industry and Commerce, Microfinance and the Social and Solidarity Economy took part in the interministerial council.
Farmers’ organizations, producer management structures, financial institutions, exporters, manufacturers and other players in the peanut sector participated in the meeting.
After taking note of their concerns, the Prime Minister took several measures with a view to ensuring the smooth running of the marketing campaign for agricultural products, which officially starts on December 5.
Ousmane Sonko asked the ministers concerned to put in place a ”system favoring the collection of seeds by operators and oil producers [locaux] on any export authorization”.
He insisted on the need to “strengthen surveillance of our borders, to prevent the escape of peanut seeds to neighboring countries”.
The government also recommends the “urgent” identification and rehabilitation of priority collection points, for proper marketing of peanut seeds.
The head of government recommended facilitating the provision on credit of 750 screening devices for collection points, in order to ensure their proper functioning, before the start of the campaign.
Measures have been taken by the government for the marketing of other agricultural products.
”The government will support rice farmers in the river valley (in the north of the country)”, assured Mr. Sonko.
The fight against seed-eating birds, strengthening the resources of the plant protection department, the collection and securing of seeds, as well as the correct supply of oil producers with peanut seeds are among the measures taken.
Ousmane Sonko ordered a ”ban on the export of seeds with seed value”.
He recommended that players in the peanut sector “give priority to seed companies in the use of metal seccos for seed storage”.
The Prime Minister invited the ministers concerned to ensure the participation of other banks in financing the marketing campaign for agricultural products, alongside the Agricultural Bank (LBA) and the National Bank for Economic Development (BNDE).
He hopes that other banks – those different from LBA and BNDE – will be able to provide an additional amount of 5 billion CFA francs to finance the cashew marketing campaign.
MTN/AKS/ESF
