Agribusiness
criteria. As part of a reform agenda to improve the country’s business environment, the Ministry of Trade introduced an electronic one-stop trade facilitation system. Launched in 2004, the system has streamlined customs clearance to allow transparent electronic transactions initiated by a single request from an importer or exporter. Although the government has not provided facilities for industrial development zones or parks, it has met the needs of foreign investors in other ways. As part of a national initiative to raise food production in a country on the southwestern end of Africa’s arid Sahel, the policy regime for horticulture firms has been supportive, reducing financing constraints. Multiple incentives make horticultural exports remunerative. For example, agricultural companies that export at least 80 percent of their output are exempted from income taxes on distributed dividends, customs and stamp duties for production and transport equipment, and wage and business license taxes. The corporate tax rate is only 15 percent. Every investor in the agricultural sector is exempted from the value added tax and customs duties. In 2008, the government announced a program to increase agricultural production that included a five-year suspension of foreign exchange controls for agricultural investors, allowing these investors to expatriate their profits freely. Preferential deals have helped Senegal export its products in European markets. AGOA has encouraged Senegal’s horticultural sector to break into the U.S. market. To benefit from all these opportunities, Senegal needs to address phytosanitary concerns and improve its packing, distribution, and transportation capabilities. Summary Senegal’s experience with horticulture exports shows that a skillful combination of good climate, FDI, a supportive policy regime, semiskilled workers, and land can foster a sustainable export industry. Senegal has been a pioneer among Sub-Saharan African countries in successfully initiating programs that have diversified agricultural products and reduced the country’s dependence on the export of groundnuts. The experience with cherry tomatoes demonstrates that agribusiness is potentially a lucrative industry in Sub-Saharan Africa, provided the conditions in the field are favorable. First, the Investment Promotion and Major Projects Agency, together with a range of other bodies, has provided
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