• Senegal has adopted a 10-year national plan to strengthen local seed production.

• The strategy aims to improve quality, traceability, and private investment in the sector.

• It seeks to reduce heavy reliance on imported horticultural seeds, which cost up to CFA30 billion yearly.

Senegal has adopted a national seed sovereignty strategy, a 10-year plan developed by key stakeholders during a workshop held from October 3 to 5 under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture in Saly Portudal. The roadmap will cover the period from 2025 to 2034.

According to the daily Le Soleil, the plan is built around four main pillars: strengthening governance and coordination of the national seed system, improving the availability, quality, and traceability of certified seeds, encouraging private and foreign investment in seed production and distribution, and modernizing certification and monitoring tools through digitalization.

The initiative comes as the use of certified seeds remains low across the country’s farming system. Official data show that only about 6% of cereal farmers and around 15% of groundnut growers use certified seeds.

Although no investment cost was disclosed, several priority actions are already planned for the 2025/2026 agricultural season. These include a nationwide awareness campaign on the use of certified seeds, the creation of a buffer stock of foundation and R1 certified seeds for key crops, the establishment of a support fund for the seed sector, and the development of regional seed production and distribution hubs.

These measures aim to stimulate domestic production and improve farmers’ access to quality seeds. “The goal is to make Senegal a producer, exporter, and regulator of its own certified seeds,” said Agriculture Minister Mabouba Diagne.

Strengthening the seed system also seeks to reduce dependency on imports. According to Alpha Ba, Secretary of State for Cooperatives and Farmers’ Support, Senegal spends between CFA20 billion and CFA30 billion (about $35.7 million to $53.5 million) each year on imported horticultural seeds alone.