Analysis of the situation of rainfed rice cultivation in southern Senegal

Abstract

In Senegal, rice occupies an important place in the diet of the population. This article aims to analyze the situation of rainfed rice cultivation in the south of the country. To achieve this objective, we carried out an empirical study in the regions of Kolda and Sédhiou falling within the SODAGRI intervention area. Thus, we surveyed by questionnaire 60 producers and conducted interviews with institutional actors operating in the rice sector at the zone level. The results obtained show that rice cultivation remains a self-sufficiency activity practiced in a still traditional way. The work is manual on small areas, yields remain low and all harvest and post-harvest operations are also manual. There are more and more actors in the rice value chain, but they are not structured. The marketing component remains the most affected by this non-structuring and faces many problems.

Keywords: Rice, sector, value chain, commercialization, Senegal