IFAD and Senegal Launch €27.8 Million Programme to Boost Food Security and Smallholder Farmers’ Resilience

The FSRP aims to reach 600,000 participants, including small-scale producers and processors, members of producer organizations, and micro, small, and medium-sized agricultural enterprises.

A new rural development programme is set to improve national food and nutrition security and bolster smallholder farmers’ resilience to external shocks, such as global price volatility, trade restrictions, and inflation, as Senegal's dependence on food imports increases. The financial agreement to fund the Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP) was recently signed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Government of Senegal, with a total cost of €27.8 million.

The FSRP aims to reach 600,000 participants, including small-scale producers and processors, members of producer organizations, and micro, small, and medium-sized agricultural enterprises. In Senegal, the agricultural sector supports 62% of the rural population and employs over 38% of the total workforce.

“The FSRP is a holistic programme that addresses all dimensions of resilience to external shocks and various aspects of food insecurity, agricultural production, research, commercialization, public policy, and financing. This is an important project for the government of Senegal because by addressing these different dimensions, it targets the underlying causes of food crises, helping to prevent food insecurity on a regional scale,” said Matteo Marchisio, IFAD Country Director for Senegal.

“IFAD’s financing will specifically focus on enhancing national food and nutrition security, and the resilience of smallholder farmers. Particularly, IFAD’s contribution will aim to strengthen the capacities of producers’ organizations to adopt climate-smart and agroecological practices and technologies,” he added.

The FSRP seeks to strengthen the resilience of food systems, improve the sustainability and adaptability of the productive base of food systems, and facilitate the integration of the food market in the region. While the project will be implemented nationwide, it will mainly focus on the western region, the Niayes region, and the southern region of Senegal.

Despite Senegal’s economy being largely based on agriculture, the country remains a net importer of food products due to population growth and urbanization. The FSRP aligns with the three strategic objectives of the Country Strategic Opportunities Programme (COSOP) 2019-2024: (i) to sustainably increase the production, productivity, and profitability of family farms within modernized value chains; (ii) to strengthen the professional capacities of actors in the value chains, including farmers' organizations, small rural enterprises, and microenterprises; and (iii) to strengthen national and subregional partnerships for scaling up good practices and implementing pro-poor policies in rural areas.

The FSRP directly contributes to several Sustainable Development Goals: SDG1 (ending poverty), SDG2 (zero hunger), SDG5 (gender equality), SDG8 (promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment, and decent work for all), SDG12 (responsible consumption and production), SDG13 (climate action), and SDG17 (partnerships for the goals).

Since 1979, IFAD has financed 22 rural development programmes and projects in Senegal, with a total investment of US$1,378 million, of which US$397 million was provided by IFAD. These initiatives have directly benefited 667,643 rural households, underscoring IFAD's long-standing commitment to improving rural livelihoods in Senegal.