Plaquette : Regional Action Plan for the Improvement of Irrigated Agriculture in the Senegal River Basin

REGIONAL ACTION PLAN FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE IN THE SENEGAL RIVER BASIN 17 - Development potential and benefits of irrigated agriculture Among the potentials and benefits, it is also worth highlighting: • the main infrastructures which exist or are being built in the valley (dams, roads, electrification, rice fields, etc.); • research and development structures with several years of experience (ISRA, AFRICARICE, IER, IRAG CNRADA, SONADER, DNGR, SAED, etc.); • the existence of a truly vast human potential (more than 3 million people) in the valley, which is an important factor in the development of irrigated crops in the river basin; • the political will of governments to promote irrigation with total water control; • high demand from the population for irrigation; • a strong potential for intensification and diversification of production under conditions of proven economic and environmental sustainability. -Hydro-agricultural Investments # Guinea: Out of an estimated development potential of 19 600 ha in the BFS, the area developed in 2015 is 6898.75 ha partitioned into alluvial plains (6542 ha) and lowlands (356.75 ha). The area under cultivation is estimated at 4 589 ha(DNGR). # Mali: Based on ADRS data, the areas developed in the Kayes region are estimated at 6,000 ha in 2016 distributed as follows: lowlands (3,795 ha), market gardens (131 ha); controlled flooding (202 ha) and total control (1,879 ha). Only about 3505 ha of the improved area are developed. # Mauritania: The irrigated potential in Mauritania (including the river valley and Gorgol) was estimated in 2016 at 130 000 ha. To date, the area under development is approximately 61,986 ha. The area under cultivation has been estimated at around 28 000 ha between 2015 and 2016(SONADER).