(Ecofin Agency) - In Senegal, cassava producers will sow 13,000 hectares in 2016. According to the Minister of Agriculture, the area should give rise to an output of around 500,000 tons.

If attained, the output will be a new record for the country which last year achieved a similar feat by producing 439,871 tons of cassava over a cultivated area of 7,500 hectares. “This record was achieved with the support from the parent ministry,” the minister said in a statement.

The government also highlighted the positive impact of cassava and sweet potato farming on populations residing in production basins such as Ngnith, in the Dagana department. “Youth from this locality never thought of clandestine emigration. They never had to because of sweet potato. Each of them farm today between 10 to 15 hectares which give them considerable returns. Also, many of them go to their farms by their own means. The cassava and sweet potato sectors have become promising niches with the new strategic line planned by the parent ministry,” the text states.

Aaron Akinocho