IN THE FIELD
Mission Senegal: “The key is how you manage your resources”
A visit to the West African country enables an OPEC Fund team to deepen a long-standing development partnership By Axel Reiserer, OPEC Fund
W hen it rains, it pours. In the rainy season – June to October – Senegal is frequently exposed to heavy flooding, while in the dry season – November to May – the country faces chronic water shortages. Water management is therefore critical for the West African country, which faces an additional challenge in some coastal areas: water usually flows back to the sea, but because of the low incline it seeps back into to the land during the dry season’s high tides. As it is now contaminated with salt, the water makes the soil unusable for agriculture. The Water Valorisation for Value Chains Development Project (PROVALE–CV), co- financed by the OPEC Fund
the returning saltwater from going back upstream during the dry season,” explained Mr. Bouaouina. “This protects the arable soil from salt, while the collected water can be used in irrigation.” Prudent water management is particularly important in a country which, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is “highly vulnerable to climate change.” With a total cost of US$136 million and co-financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other partners, the program included a modernization and overhaul of the agricultural infrastructure across eight regions, as well as investments in value chains and youth entrepreneurship. Once the program reaches its full potential, it is expected to substantially increase domestic production, enabling the country to achieve greater self-sufficiency in agricultural
The project has made a significant contribution to strengthening food security. “The impact has been huge,” said Ms. Walden. “It changed how people manage their land, what they plant and how they harvest.” The rich yields have even opened up the opportunity to sell produce abroad: “We met farmers who are growing vegetables of such quality that they are now exporting to Switzerland,” she added. Furthermore, the project has financed the construction of several rural access roads. Sylvain Diatta, President of the Federation of Banana Producers of Balantacounda, a local producer organization representing smallholder farmers, said of its local road: “This has been a long-standing request. Its construction now allows us to transport our produce much more easily.” The overall results have been impressive: Of the 12,000 ha arable land developed under the program, about a third was recovered thanks to salinization control. The project benefited 38,000 households with about 300,000 people. Idrissa Haïdara, a returning migrant and beneficiary of a mixed-crop farm, said: “The achievements of PROVALE-CV have taken us to another level. Before, during certain periods, I had to go far away with my donkey to fetch water to irrigate my crops so
With these developments, our youth now
have enough to live better here instead of going out to sea trying to cross over to Europe.
with a US$20 million loan signed in 2020, addresses
this issue with a far-reaching infrastructure development program. A recent mission to Senegal provided Mourad Bouaouina, Director, Portfolio Management Unit, Public Sector Operations, and Valentina Walden, Portfolio Manager, Public Sector Operations, with the opportunity to witness firsthand the delivery of this and other projects. They found that simple, yet ingenious solutions are often the best: “Our partners have built small dikes, 1-2 meters high, that allow excess water during the rainy season to flow to the ocean but prevent
Mamadou Mané, President of the Kakatan Cooperative in Sédhiou
products and enhance its capacity to feed its entire population. “With the dam, there is a clear difference between yesterday and today. Our
production has tripled or even quadrupled. We are now able to meet our rice needs and sell part of it,” said Issa Cisse, the Deputy Mayor of Bogal, a settlement inthe Sédhiou region in the southwest of the country, after the construction of a 450 meter retention dam.
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