Senegal starts US$192M Agropole Centre to grow local food processing

SENEGAL – Senegal has started work on the Agropole Centre, a large agro industrial processing zone that aims to raise local food processing and support food sovereignty.

The project began on December 16, according to the Senegalese Press Agency. It carries a total cost of 107.4 billion CFA francs, equal to about US$191.7 million.

The state is financing the project with support from partners that include the African Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, and the Belgian Development Agency.

Agriculture contributes about 16 percent to Senegal’s GDP and employs roughly 22 percent of the workforce. The government sees stronger processing as a way to create value at home and support farmers.

Focus on key crops and regions

The Agropole Centre plans to support 37 major projects across strategic sectors. These include groundnuts, dry cereals such as millet, maize, and sorghum, sesame, and salt. The work will take place in Kaolack, Kaffrine, Fatick, and Diourbel.

Authorities say the project will build industrial units and processing platforms close to production areas. The goal is to raise processing rates from 6 percent to 30 percent for cereals, from 15 percent to 50 percent for groundnuts, and from 10 percent to 30 percent for salt.

Babou Drame, the project coordinator, said the centre will help balance growth across regions. “The Agropole Centre is a large scale project that tries to promote territorial equity to make the central area a place of agro industrial processing that is supposed to manage everything related to the processing of local products, for more added value that will translate into jobs created,” he said.

Jobs, incomes, and value chains

Officials expect the project to create nearly 130,000 direct jobs and more than 200,000 indirect jobs. Young people and women, who play a major role in farm value chains, should benefit the most.

The project also aims to lift producer incomes by increasing the use of local raw materials. The Ministry of Industry and Trade will oversee processing and industrial activity.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Livestock will support raw material supply through farmer groups, higher yields, and better water use.

This structure links farming and processing more closely and seeks to reduce losses after harvest.

Part of a wider national plan

The Agropole Centre forms part of the National Programme for the Development of Senegal’s Agropoles. This plan includes four other agropole projects in the south, west, north, and east of the country.

Each zone will focus on sectors that matter most to its area. The northern zone will work on rice, export horticulture, livestock, fishing, and aquaculture. The southern zone will focus on mangoes, cashew nuts, and maize.

For Dakar, these projects support the food sovereignty policy by cutting reliance on imports. Senegal ranks as the second highest food importer in the WAEMU region.

Data from UNCTAD shows the country imported food worth about US$1.88 billion per year on average between 2021 and 2023, with rice, wheat, maize, palm oil, dairy products, and sugar among the main items.

By expanding local processing, the government aims to reduce this bill while creating jobs and steady income for farmers.

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