Expert says Senegal underutilizing agricultural potentials
The head of an agricultural research institute in Senegal has said the country has no need to be facing food insecurity and relying on rice from abroad to feed its population.
In an interview with West Africa Democracy Radio (WADR), the Director General of the Senegalese Institute of Agriculture Research (ISRA), Macoumba Diouf said this West Africa nation has all the potentials to prevent food insecurity and even export rice, the country’s key staple.
Diouf wondered why Senegal has to depend on rice import from Asia to supply its population, when this West African nation has the necessary human, agricultural and land resources.
He said although ISRA has produced various rice varieties, they are not used on a big scale and that arable farmlands in Senegal are under-utilized.
Senegal’s imports of rice have increased sharply over the years. One report said imports of broken rice have increased from 400,000 to almost 900,000 tonnes since 1994.
Click audio below to listen to the ISRA Director General Macoumba Diouf speak with Awa Diedhiou of WADR’s French Desk.
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