Despite significant progress in local rice production to reduce dependence on imports, Senegal continues to import an average of 1.3 million tonnes of white rice per year. This was stated on Saturday by the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock, Mabouba Diagne, as reported by the Senegalese Press Agency (APS).
Rice production in Senegal has tripled in ten years, reaching 1.5 million tonnes by 2023, covering nearly 70% of national needs. The government maintains its goal of self-sufficiency with a target date of 2030.
"We must have the clarity to recognize the challenges that persist. Despite progress, Senegal continues to import an average of 1.3 million tons of white rice per year, further widening the trade deficit," said Mabouba Diagne during a workshop to review the 2025 hot dry season (SSC), during which a program contract was signed between the ministry and the Interprofessional Committee for the Rice Sector of Senegal (CIRIZ).
Faced with this situation, exacerbated by uncertainties in the international market, the minister calls for a collective awakening to turn things around. "This is precisely the shift the government is making: moving from a logic of dispersed support to an integrated, structured, and sustainable dynamic," said the minister, who announced measures aimed at securing the local market.
"Among the priority actions, the State will take measures to secure the local market by setting up a system for triangulating information on imports and local production of rice, in close coordination with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and all the importers concerned," he emphasizes.
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