Africa-Press – Senegal. The new Director General of the National Agency for Integration and Agricultural Development (ANIDA), Amadou Hamath Touré, wishes to introduce a “new offer” by going to “Naatangué” farms of more than 150 hectares to boost production and improve the daily lives of Senegalese.
“What we want is to go further (…) bringing in private operators and doing bigger, that is to say going to farms of more than 150 hectares, that is the new offer that we are going to introduce,” he said.
The director of ANIDA spoke on Tuesday on the sidelines of a visit to the farms of Djilakh and Nguékhokh, in the district of Sindia (Mbour, west).
“Since 2008, ANIDA has been making the same farms, now we need to make it bigger and more modern and have an impact on production and the daily lives of Senegalese,” he recommended.
Amadou Hamath Touré, however, hailed the success so far of the farming models of the Naatangué farms.
Naatangué Farms are based on water control through the mobilization of groundwater for agriculture and backed by new irrigation technologies, the integration of different value chains and the promotion of energy such as than solar.
This strategy has enabled ANIDA to build 683 farms and create 46,640 jobs for young people leaving training schools and universities.
Naatangué family farms are small farms of 1 to 2 hectares intended for individuals while village farms are the models that have larger areas exceeding 50 hectares and grouping together several villages that work there.
The Djilakh farm is the first farm built by ANIDA in 2008, the only one that now extends over 100 ha and employs more than 2,000 people.
Beans are among the high yield products grown on this farm with a production of 10 to 15 tons per hectare, explained Diadji Guèye, the production manager. Watermelon is also grown there with yields of 40 tons per hectare on 90 hectares.
ANIDA has built 5 farms in the department of Mbour: Djilakh- Nguékhokh- Sandra- Keur El Hadji- Aga Bambou.
For the Director General, appointed last March, the challenges to be met will relate to the finalization and closure of the “Xéyu Ndaw Ni” program in which 70 Naatangué village farms with a solar pumping system and 1,700 family farms are expected.
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