African Development Bank Approves €55.33 Million Loan to Senegal for Water Valorization Project
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group approved a €55.33 million loan to Senegal on December 2, 2024, in Abidjan, to implement the second phase of the Water Valorization Project for Value Chain Development. The project aims to sustainably increase agricultural production, employment, and income in targeted regions by mobilizing surface and groundwater resources.
"The satisfactory results achieved by the first phase of the project, which were highly appreciated by the beneficiaries, have raised new challenges related to consolidating the project's achievements and supporting young and female agripreneurs to optimize investment valorization. Therefore, there is a need to offer similar opportunities and extend them to other regions, justifying a second phase," said Mohamed Chérif, Country Manager of the African Development Bank in Senegal.
The project includes the development of 9,000 hectares of land, including 1,950 hectares of salt-affected land, 450 hectares of collective market gardens, the rehabilitation and reinforcement of 15 existing irrigation perimeters, and the installation of 10 solar-powered pastoral water points and 20 kilometers of potable water supply networks around the pastoral water points.
The project also involves the construction of marketing infrastructure, including 130 kilometers of production tracks, with 100 kilometers to be rehabilitated, the construction of 20 storage warehouses with a capacity of 100 tons each, and four grouping centers with cold rooms with a capacity of 300 to 500 tons each.
To promote youth employment and entrepreneurship, the PROVALE CV-2 project plans to establish 1,250 farms covering a total area of 2,000 hectares, construct and equip 40 agricultural mechanization centers, 50 multifunctional platforms, and 50 solar-powered food processing units. The project will also provide support for the establishment of 180 livestock production units and 60 fish farms.
The second phase of the Water Valorization Project for Value Chain Development covers nine administrative regions: Louga, Thiès, Kaolack, Fatick, Kaffrine, Diourbel, Ziguinchor, Sédhiou, and Kolda. The Louga region, which has similar agro-climatic and socio-economic vulnerabilities to the eight regions of the first phase, is the extension zone of the current project, which will directly benefit approximately 57,000 households, or around 570,000 people.
