Analysis and Diagnosis of the Agrarian System in the Niayes Region, Northwest Senegal (West Africa)

Yohann Fare, Marc Dufumier, Myriam Loloum, Fanny Miss, Alassane Pouye, Ahmat Khastalani and Adama Fall
Additional contact information
Yohann Fare: Unité d’Enseignement et de Recherche Agriculture Comparée et Développement Agricole, AgroParisTech. 16, rue Claude Bernard, F-75231 Paris CEDEX 05, France
Marc Dufumier: Unité d’Enseignement et de Recherche Agriculture Comparée et Développement Agricole, AgroParisTech. 16, rue Claude Bernard, F-75231 Paris CEDEX 05, France
Myriam Loloum: Unité d’Enseignement et de Recherche Agriculture Comparée et Développement Agricole, AgroParisTech. 16, rue Claude Bernard, F-75231 Paris CEDEX 05, France
Fanny Miss: École Nationale du Génie Rural, des Eaux et des Forêts, AgroParisTech, 19 Avenue du Maine, 75732 Paris CEDEX 15, France
Alassane Pouye: Ecole Nationale Supérieure d´Agriculture (ENSA) de Thiès, B.P A 296-Thiès, Sénégal
Ahmat Khastalani: Ecole Nationale Supérieure d´Agriculture (ENSA) de Thiès, B.P A 296-Thiès, Sénégal
Adama Fall: SOS SAHEL International, 21001 Thiès, Senegal

Agriculture, 2017, vol. 7, issue 7, 1-25

Abstract: The agrarian system Analysis and Diagnosis is used for this study, the goal of which was to provide a corpus of basic knowledge and elements of reflection necessary for the understanding the Niayes farming systems dynamics in Senegal, West Africa. Such holistic work has never been done before for this small region that provides the majority of vegetables in the area, thanks to its microclimate and access to fresh water in an arid country. Reading of the landscape and historical interviews coupled with fine-tuned household surveys were used to build a typology of agricultural production units (each type being represented by a production system). The main phases within the region’s history were distinguished. Before colonization, agriculture was based on gathering and shifting agriculture (millet and peanut) in the southern region and transhumant stockbreeding in the North. During colonization, market gardening became a source of income as a response to cities’ increasing demand. Two major droughts (in the 1970s and 1980s) have accelerated this movement. Extension of market gardening areas and intensification of activities were made possible by Sahelian migrants’ influx and the creation of mbeye seddo , a contract that allows for sharing added value between the employer and seasonal workers, named sourghas . Over the past 20 years, the “race for motorization” has created important social gaps (added value sharing deserves review) and a risk of overexploitation of groundwater.

Keywords: comparative agriculture; survey on farming; socioeconomic differentiation; Senegal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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