Senegal, February 2023

Working Week for developing Concept Notes of NRDS II (National Rice Development Strategy) in Senegal

Background

To reduce rice imports and achieve rice self-sufficiency, the Ministry of Agriculture of Senegal, in collaboration with development partners and the main actors in the rice sector, has adopted the second National Rice Development Strategy (NRDSII) which aims to achieve a production level of 2,3 million ton of rice in 2030. Following the validation of the strategy, a workshop to develop concept notes for its implementation was held from January 30^th to February 3^rd. The workshop was chaired by the Technical Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture in charge of rice issues.

Methodology and Opening Ceremony

Chaired by the Technical Advisor to the Minister in Charge of Rice and focal point of CARD, the workshop saw the participation of the main actors of the segments of the rice value chain such as experts from the Ministry of Rural Development, the NGO and representatives of farmers’ organizations. The workshop was divided into two parts: a plenary session and a group session. The plenary session consisted of (1) the opening ceremony, (2) sharing of background information such as the revised SIEM and the concept notes canvas and (3) explanation of the actions to be taken during the working week.
During the Opening Ceremony, Mr. Waly Diouf recalled the importance of rice in the national economy and especially the desire of the Senegalese High Authorities to achieve rice self-sufficiency. He also recalled the important role played in the past by the concept notes in the sense that they were used during the various trips of the authorities of the country to make the advocacy of the NRDS. He ended by informing the participants that just before the holding of the working week, a seminar was organized in Dakar by the AfDB for the achievement of food sovereignty in Africa and during this summit several countries had to share their Food and Agriculture delivery compact. For the one of Senegal, rice is chosen as priority sector. Since during this workshop a meeting was organized with donors and an indicative envelope of US$ 1.5 million has been allocated to Senegal, this could serve as an opportunity for the implementation of the NRDS through concept notes.

Key Outputs/Results

Regarding the development of concept notes, participants had to decide on the number of concept notes to be developed based on the action lines of the NRDS. On this basis, the participants grouped the eight action lines into five concept notes to be developed, namely: (i) support for irrigated rice cultivation, (ii) support for rainfed rice cultivation, (iii) support for the implementation of the emissary of the River Delta, (iv) support for the governance of the sector and (v) support for action research in the sector.

After agreeing on the concept notes to be developed, the participants were divided into two groups to develop the draft concept notes. The results of the main draft concept notes are summarized in the table below:

Proposed Concept Notes

Concept notes	General objectives	Specific objectives	concept note costs
support for the implementation of the emissary of the River Delta	The overall objective of the construction project for branch A of the emissary of the Senegal river delta is to allow the drainage of more than 43,000 ha.	1. Carry out earthworks with cuttings, embankments and deep digging of the drain;	XOF 99, 2 billion
		2. Carry out civil engineering works with the construction of works and the installation of siphons;
		3. Provide equipment for the Mboubène station and remote transmission;
		4. Compensate the people affected by the project.
support for irrigated rice cultivation	The general objective of the project will be to contribute to the achievement of self-sufficiency of urban households and generate a marketable surplus.	1. Development of new irrigation schemes;	XOF 967,2 billion
		2. Strengthen post-harvest infrastructure and equipment;
		3. Improve the quantity and quality of agricultural equipment (plowing equipment and post-harvest equipment);
		4. Strengthen the use of quality inputs.
support for rainfed rice cultivation	The general objective of the project will be to contribute to the achievement of self-sufficiency of rural households and generate a marketable surplus.	1. Improve the mobilization and control of water at plot level:	XOF 536,0 billion
		2. Increase rice intensification and productivity through appropriate agricultural equipment, the use of quality inputs and the adoption of good practices:
support for the governance of the sector and	The general objective of the project is to increase the competitiveness of local rice through better coordination of activities and interrelations between actors among the value chain.	1. Develop the capacities of actors and organizations (institutional capacities, access to finance, to markets,	XOF 13,4 billion
		2. Promote better coordination of activities (planning system, steering, monitoring and evaluation)
		3. Strengthen the interrelations between actors (contracting, innovation platforms, multi-actor platforms)
support for action research in the sector	The general objective of the project will be to help improve rice productivity through the provision of appropriate technological packages.	1. Promote and disseminate good rice cultivation practices	TBD
		2. Strengthen the relationship between research and extension services
		3. Strengthen the capacities of research and extension services

Way forward

At the end of the working group session and the technical validation of the concept notes, it was decided to proceed, in one week, to the proofreading of the documents and to start initiating the search for their financing. As such, it will be necessary to take as a first opportunity the compact presented during the Seminar on food sovereignty and the current financing opportunities, in particular the requests submitted for the financing of the emissary of the Senegal River Delta.