• Authorities are advancing steps to set up a cassava interprofession

• Regional assemblies of producers, processors, and traders have been held

• Cassava output fell sharply to about 741,000 tons in 2024/2025

Senegal’s cassava value chain is undergoing a structuring process aimed at establishing an interprofessional body. The initiative, led by the National Fund for Agro-Sylvo-Pastoral Development (FNDASP), was outlined in a statement released on January 9.

According to the authorities, several milestones have already been completed. Following an organizational diagnosis, an information and awareness campaign, as well as surveys and validation workshops that led to the design of a new structuring framework, general assemblies of regional sub-colleges bringing together producers, processors, and traders were successfully held in the three main production areas: the Northwest, the Center, and the Southeast.

“The next step is to organize the constituent general assemblies of the colleges to sustainably structure the actors in the value chain, set up governing bodies, and formalize governance structures through validated minutes. The process will be completed with the constituent general assembly of the interprofession,” the FNDASP said.

A sector in decline

According to the authorities, the objective of creating an interprofessional body is to strengthen the organization, competitiveness, and performance of the cassava sector, for the benefit of stakeholders and national food security. The initiative comes as cassava production has recorded a marked decline in recent years, based on data compiled by the National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD).

After peaking at 1.34 million tons at the end of the 2020/2021 agricultural season, output edged down to 1.32 million tons in 2021/2022. Production then stagnated in 2022/2023 before dropping sharply to 824,734 tons in 2023/2024.

Provisional results for the 2024/2025 season, still to be confirmed, point to a harvest of 740,721 tons, confirming the downward trend. It remains to be seen whether the upcoming creation of an interprofessional body will be able to inject new momentum into the cassava sector and support its recovery.

Stéphanas Assocle