• Senegal approves $300M deal to solarize and modernize agriculture
• Six-year BOT model includes energy transfer to local producers
• Supports national food sovereignty plan, 90,000 job target

Senegal's Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty endorsed a $300 million framework partnership agreement with The Cornerstone Group – Hajib Al Shams Joint Venture on Tuesday. Signed on the sidelines of the African Food Systems Forum, the six-year deal aims to modernize the country's agricultural sector through the use of renewable energy.

The investment will be deployed under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model. "At the end of this period, the energy infrastructure will be transferred to Senegalese producers and the private sector, thus guaranteeing local empowerment and long-term sustainability," said Senegal's Minister of Agriculture, Mabouba Diagne, on his X account.

The agreement also includes provisions for solarizing farms, livestock units, aquaculture sites, and analytical laboratories, as well as promoting bioenergy solutions. It further provides for monetizing carbon credits to benefit an agricultural fund, financing insurance, and fostering international cooperation in research and innovation.

This financial partnership comes as the Senegalese government plans to mobilize $2.5 billion under its food sovereignty policy to support agricultural production over the next five years. The country aims to create 90,000 jobs for young people and women in the agricultural and pastoral value chains and to deploy 525 integrated agroecological farms of 200 hectares each.

More broadly, the deal is expected to help implement the country's national plan for adapting agriculture to climate change, which was approved on April 3, 2025. The government has also committed to increasing agricultural irrigation to reduce its vulnerability to drought.

While the use of renewable energy in Senegal's agricultural sector remains limited, the government is increasing initiatives to modernize and boost the sector. Its National Food Sovereignty Strategy (SNSA) aims to increase productivity and production in these priority sectors to raise farmers' incomes and reduce the country's dependence on food imports.

Lydie Mobio