The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group granted a donation of $20 million to Senegal, in Abidjan on Tuesday 5 March 2024, to implement the Post-Covid Food and Nutrition Security Enhancement Project (PRESAN-PC), designed to increase the agricultural production and incomes of vulnerable women and young people over the long term.
The Bank's financial support comes from the Global Agriculture & Food Security Program (GASFP), a multilateral fund aimed at improving incomes and food security for vulnerable populations in developing countries by increasing the volume and quality of investments made in the public and private sectors.
The project will also receive contributions of $4.57 million from the OCP Group, $1.29 million from the Senegalese government and $370,000 from the beneficiaries themselves.
"The project design is centred on strengthening the actions of the Food Security Support Project in the Louga, Matam and Kaffrine Regions (PASA-LMK) and the resilience of the population, particularly in relation to climate change," commented Chérif Mohamed, head of the African Development Bank's Country Office in Senegal. "It is being implemented in the same intervention zone, and extended into agro-climatic and social vulnerability areas similar to those of the PASA-LMK, namely the Matam region and the departments of Koumpentoum in the Tambacounda region and Nioro in the Kaolack region."
The project will help build several kinds of agricultural infrastructure: equipped agricultural boreholes in five former farms with excess water flows in Kaffrine and Louga; installing solar panels for ten pumping stations on existing farms also in Kaffrine and Louga; renovating five retention structures in the Kaffrine region; developing three drainage structures in Massembé, Kaymor (a dyke), Nioro and Koumpel (a dyke and two sills); developing 200 hectares of drainage structures (retention dykes, spillway crests and secondary structures) and building 400 hectares of secondary structures downstream from the dykes and sills that have already been built in 18 valleys, to benefit women and young people. It will also support the construction of nine integrated, five-hectare farms with solar-powered henhouses and stables.
Three pastoral boreholes (borehole powered by solar energy, a water tower and watering places), two pastoral ponds and 30 kilometres of drinking water supply networks will also be developed. Finally, the project plans to construct 17 combined vaccination centres for cattle and small ruminants and to renovate six veterinary centres.
The intervention zone covers three of Senegal's administrative regions -- Louga, Matam and Kaffrine --and two departments -- Nioro and Koumpentoum-- in the Kaolack and Tambacounda administrative regions. It will directly impact 31,000 households, representing around 310,000 people.
On 31 December 2023, the African Development Bank Group's active portfolio in Senegal comprised 40 operations, with a total commitment of $2.85 billion.
