Senegal is a West African country that extends over 196,722 km2. Like other West African countries, it depends heavily on agriculture. Agriculture represents about 7.1% of GDP and employs about 70% of the population.
In Senegal, agriculture is exposed to serious threats from climate change. Only 7% of cultivated land is irrigated, making Senegalese agriculture heavily dependent on rainfall. And already, due to climate-related events, Senegalese agriculture has been forced to change significantly. The peanut industry, once the motor of the Senegalese economy, suffered a major crisis. It has now been replaced by the production of cereals such as millet, rice and corn, as well as fruits, vegetables, and cassava. Senegalese agriculture also includes cash crops such as cotton and groundnuts.
For the Senegalese government, it is not possible to reduce poverty and promote economic growth without taking climate change into account. Already, the country has experienced the negative affects which climate change can have on key development goals. In response to this, mastering the adverse effects of climate change has become one of the key issues of national policy .
Key initiatives in Senegal
In West Africa, CCAFS is working with several partners to develop climate-smart villages. A climate-smart village a site where farmers work with researchers and other local partners to test a portfolio of climate-smart technologies and practices. Projects are implemented in an integrated manner in order to realize the triple benefits of climate-smart agriculture: productivity, adaptation and mitigation. In Sénégal, the climate-smart village is located in Daga Birame in Kaffrine region. Read more : Developing Climate-Smart Village models in West Africa.
National science-policy dialogue platforms: In Senegal, CCAFS is helping to develop a national science-policy dialogue platform: a network of national stakeholders, including scientists and policy makers, who regularly exchange knowledge on adaptation to climate change. Read more: Vers un dialogue Science-Politique pour l’adaptation de l’agriculture au changement climatique au Sénégal: Etat des lieux des acteurs institutionnels et politiques
Climate-Smart Agriculture Alliance: Senegal is a member of the Climate-Smart Agriculture Alliance launched in June 2015, in Mali. This alliance, in partnership with both Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) and CCAFS, aims to increase farm productivity and incomes sustainably and equitably, to enhance adaptation and resilience to climate variability and change, and to control and reduce greenhouse gas emissions wherever possible and appropriate, at a regional level.