Senegal
The fact that the abundant resources in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and livestock are not exploited in Senegal gave however a signal to policymakers to think about new growth and development initiatives based on agro-industrial development and the promotion of agribusiness. Some new approaches are forthcoming.
Policies for developing agro-industries Economic reform and agro-industrial development In common with many developing countries, Senegal’s primary sector is characterized by abundant natural resources, a large supply of low-skilled and semi-skilled workers, and the relative scarcity of advanced technological know-how. For many years the country’s post-independence macroeconomic policy was based on import substitution through the industrial processing of locally produced primary commodities. This is illustrated by the large number of state-owned agro-industry and mining companies that operated from the 1960s to the 1990s.
However, this unfavourable situation may improve in the wake of recent policy changes. Two programmes illustrate this change in the policy stance. In 2007, after years of implementing unsatisfactory Strategies for Poverty Reduction (see MdlEF/Ministère de l’Economie et des Finances, 2003a, 2003b), the government has launched its export-driven Strategy for Accelerated Growth (SAG) (PdS/Primature du Sénégal, 2007) that seeks to achieve faster economic growth by scaling-up output in agro-industry. In July 2009, AllAFrica.com reported that the Minister of Industry had announced bold new reforms in the agro-industry sector, including new laws for agriculture, livestock, and forestry. If implemented efficiently, these measures are likely to stimulate investment and to revitalize agro-industry; however the scope of policies is not always made clear and the concreteness of policy measures has to be questioned and clarified. There are, however, in Senegal severe implementation problems as government machinery is not well coordinated; agriculture development and agro-industrial development could be synchronized and supported in a more cohesive and integrated fashion (see on the coordination problems Matsumoto-Izadifar, Yoshiko, 2008, p. 16). Public agencies play an increasing role, but have limited institutional capacity. The National Council for Rural Cooperation (CNCR) has a coordinating role from the side of the private sector and is linking up with government and donors in policy design and formation. However, too many gaps still exist between government strategies and the needs of the private sector (Matsumoto-Izadifar, Yoshiko, 2008, p. 16). Some limited decentralization of functions for the development of productive sectors is undertaken, through the semi-private National Agricultural and Rural Advisory Agency (ANCAR), in an attempt to involve rural development agencies and local communities (Matsumoto-Izadifar, Yoshiko, 2008, p. 16). It is, however, too early to evaluate the result of these changes. Policies are also affected by historical processes and impediments resulting from more long-term structural factors. Four factors combine to delineate the market potential of the Senegalese agroindustry. First, Senegal has a long history of urbanization as a consequence of the French colonization which had demonstrable effects on food consumption patterns as well as on the 221
SENEGAL
Following the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) of the 1990s, coupled with a stronger market-orientation of the economy, the parastatal agro-industrial sector companies were privatized, but without a clear industrial strategy to accompany the policy reversal. The Senegalese agro-industry was neglected by the Government for many years, which helps to explain the depressed levels of investment in the sector. Moreover, increased competition from Asian producers in the global agribusiness market has undermined agricultural growth and output in Senegal; profitability and employment did not increase in the sector for over a decade. However, the basic issue is how to transform the sector so that value addition can be stimulated, by producing on a competitive basis for local, regional and global markets.
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