The Government of Senegal and the World Bank Group launched the AgriConnect Senegal Compact in Dakar on February 10, 2026, an initiative to transform the country's agrifood systems and improve food security for millions of Senegalese.

The compact follows the Senegal National Agenda for Transformation 2050 and the Food Sovereignty Strategy for 2025 to 2034. It is a single implementation mechanism that mobilises the Government and the World Bank Group, through the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), together with technical and financial partners, the private sector and producer organisations. It concentrates on three value chains, grains, horticulture and livestock, and works on three axes: structural investment in agricultural infrastructure and services, revision of sectoral policies to improve the business environment, and more private investment for innovation and competitiveness.

The targets are dated. By 2029 the compact aims to reach more than 90 percent food security at national level and to create 800,000 formal jobs in agriculture. It sets out to raise the cereal coverage rate from 48 percent to 78 percent, lift rice self-sufficiency to 64 percent and establish 100 community-based agricultural cooperatives across the country. The Government describes the approach as a significant shift in how national agricultural and food policies are designed, coordinated and carried out.

"The AgriConnect Pact aims to concretely transform the lives of our populations," said Mabouba Diagne, Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock. "These are families that will be able to better feed their children, farmers who will see their incomes increase and stabilize, young people who will find jobs and a future in modern and profitable agriculture."

"What drives us in AgriConnect is the belief that Senegalese agriculture can feed Senegal, create opportunities for its youth, and become an engine of shared prosperity," said Ousmane Diagana, World Bank Vice President for Western and Central Africa, adding that the coordinated action of IDA, IFC and MIGA is meant to bring public and private investment to bear on one objective: food sovereignty and jobs for every Senegalese. Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo, Minister of State in charge of the Senegal 2050 agenda, called the compact a model platform for structuring a pipeline of projects, with results-based management expected of every stakeholder.

Governance sits with the Minister of State responsible for the 2050 agenda, and operational implementation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock through its Delivery Unit. A joint steering committee will plan, coordinate and monitor the work with the Technical Group of Partners. The compact was drawn up in consultation with IFAD, FAO, the World Food Programme, the French Development Agency, the African Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, JICA, GIZ, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the MasterCard Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

For a grain or vegetable grower in Senegal, the numbers to watch are the cereal coverage rate and the 100 cooperatives, because they decide whether the investment reaches the farm gate or stops at the port.

Source: World Bank