Photo by Clement Tardif, Feed the Future Senegal - Yaajeende
Senegal
Senegal is among the most stable and promising countries in West Africa for economic expansion. Over the past five years, it has had strong economic growth. Despite this progress, there remains huge untapped agricultural potential. Feed the Future programs in Senegal integrate nutrition and agriculture to reduce poverty and combat malnutrition. These efforts also promote trade and market access, support small and medium-sized agricultural businesses, and enable communities to take charge of their own food security.
138THOUSAND
Producers using new technologies and practices with Feed the Future’s help in FY18
$34MILLION
Annual agricultural sales generated by Senegalese farms and firms reached by Feed the Future in FY18
630THOUSAND
Children under 5 reached with nutrition help in FY18
$8.9MILLION
New private investment leveraged by Feed the Future in FY18
Feed the Future activities have played a pivotal role in transforming Senegal’s rice sector. By adopting new technologies, including better seeds, 147,000 farmers increased their rice production. Support services, such as crop insurance, climate information services, improved certified seeds, contract farming, and new credit systems also contributed to growing the production of and market for rice. From 2014 to 2018, there was a 67 percent increase in household income and significant increases in rice, millet, and maize yields in areas reached by the Feed the Future Naatal Mbay program.
In the Northern Senegal River Valley, producer groups farmed nearly 38,000 hectares of rice, increasing their yields by 37 percent over the past year. Feed the Future facilitated access to $64 million in loans in 2018 for farmers, wholesalers, millers, and finance institutions, particularly in the rice industry. Feed the Future also supported new lease financing models along with the Government of Senegal’s efforts to expand the use of farm equipment for land preparation and harvesting. These efforts stabilized market prices, reduced loan defaults, and paved the way for further transformation and growth in the rice sector.
Source
These results reflect information from U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Peace Corps, U.S. African Development Foundation, and U.S. Department of the Treasury (through the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program), reported into Feed the Future’s central monitoring system for fiscal year 2018 (FY18). For more information on the indicators above, please view the Feed the Future Indicator Handbook. All dollar amounts are listed in U.S. dollars.
Improve coastal marine fisheries management while protecting biodiversity
Increase productivity and market linkages in key value chains
Increase production, trade, and consumption of nutritious foods needed to address nutritional deficiencies
Increased women’s empowerment and gender equality
Increase access to potable water, improved sanitation, and services for good hygiene
Enhance policy reform to improve agriculture and private sector development
Increase human resource capacity in agricultural research and associated higher-education institutions, public and private sectors, and in entrepreneurship and management
Coordinate with other Government of Senegal and U.S. Government initiatives 
Photo by Olivier Asselin
Zones of Influence in Senegal
Senegal River Valley
Southern Forest Zone
Sine Saloum Delta
Background Stats
2.5MILLION
Number of people living in Feed the Future target regions (ANSD, 2018)
6.8PERCENT
Annual GDP growth; agriculture accounts for 16.6 percent of added value (World Bank, 2018)
53PERCENT
Percentage of population living in rural Senegal (World Bank, 2018)
17PERCENT
Percentage of stunted children under the age of 5 (World Bank, 2016)
41.3PERCENT
Percentage of people living in poverty in Feed the Future target regions in 2016
Value Chains
Rice
Maize/Corn
Millet
Ocean Fisheries
Horticulture
Photo by Sylvain Cherkaoui/RTI International.
Approach
Feed the Future believes that the best development solutions are the ones that continuously empower others to get in the game and carry the work forward. The Government of Senegal’s growing investment in agriculture — surpassing its goal of 10 percent of annual public spending since 2014 — has opened the door for progress.
In 2009, Senegal finalized its Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program Investment Plan, setting a long-term vision for agricultural development as the primary driver of economic growth. The coordination of this plan is housed in the Office of the Prime Minister, further demonstrating Senegal’s desire to elevate agriculture’s role in economic prosperity and food security.
In Senegal, Feed the Future supports the government’s plans to increase food security and agricultural growth, and integrates both poverty reduction and improved nutrition into its strategy. Senegal is characterized by moderate but chronic undernutrition, where anemia and the “hidden hunger” of micronutrient deficiencies are prevalent. Although Senegal has one of the lowest stunting rates in West Africa, the condition persists as an underlying factor in Senegal’s high maternal mortality rates and among children under the age of five.
Activities
Feed the Future supports the following programs, partnerships and organizations in Senegal.
Climate Information Services for Increased Resilience and Productivity in Senegal (USAID/CINSERE)
Feed the Future Agriculture Value Chains (Naatal Mbay)
Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy
Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Grain Legumes
Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Integrated Pest Management
Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems
Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Sorghum and Millet
Feed the Future Senegal Agricultural Policy Activity
Feed the Future Senegal Cultivating Nutrition (Kawolor)
Feed the Future Senegal Fisheries Biodiversity and Livelihoods
Feed the Future Senegal Policy for Agriculture Investments
Feed the Future Senegal Post-Harvest Partnership (CTI)
Feed the Future Senegal Youth in Agriculture
Global Agriculture and Food Security Program
Government of Senegal’s Agriculture Policy Reforms: Country Investment Plan and New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition Commitments
International Fertilizer Development Center
Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact
Strengthening Agriculture Input and Output Markets in Africa Partnership