During the constitutive General Assembly of the national banana trade in Senegal, Tidiane Sidibé, Chief of Staff of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Equipment, declared that the government had released 2.5 billion francs CFA [4.3 million USD] this year to ensure the self-sufficiency of Senegal in bananas.
He also announced the development of 500 hectares in the Kolda region in order to double the production. “Our current banana production is around 30,000 tons per year. Yet, 55,000 to 60,000 tons are necessary in a year to ensure our self-sufficiency and also do some exportation.” Mr Sidibé also stressed the importance of a joint trade in the definition of the agricultural policies as recommended by the texts in the West-African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).
