54 AFRICAN COUNTRIES

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing

Agriculture is one of the most important sector's of Senegal, both socially and economically. While it contributes only 12.5% of GDP, it provides employment to nearly 70% of the workforce in Senegal. The most prominent crop in this region is peanuts, but the products have now been diversified. Extensive acreage is devoted to millet, sorghum are grown for fodder. Rice is cultivated both in wet areas and by irrigation, although large amount of cultivation is restricted to only the lower Casamance valley and the lower Senegal River valley. The other prominent crops are corn (maize), cassava (manioc), beans, and sweet potatoes are grown in significant quantities. The Manantali dam in Mali has alleviated some of the problems of drought by providing water for large areas of newly irrigated land. New drought-resistant strains of plants have also been developed.

Sector % age Contribution to GDP (2007) Agriculture,hunting, forestry and fishing 12.50% Mining and quarrying,food processing and others 12.90% Electricity Gas and Water  2.6% Construction 5.30% Trade Transport communication 26.90% Education,Health and communication services 39.90%

Senegal in the south is well forested and the country has many conservation and reforestation programs in place. Sawn timber is produced for domestic consumption, and wood, in the form of charcoal, is an important source of fuel in Senegal. However the production of forest resources, mainly charcoal and wildlife, is estimated at $50 million yearly. The prominent tree Baobab provides fuel and fruit.

Majority of the fishing is done at sea in Senegal. The products in fishing are exported based on value. The coastal water in Senegal is known for its large variety of fish. There is also huge amount of potential in waters off Senegal particularly those at some distance from Senegal. However, overfishing by foreign fisheries threatens this very lucrative source of income.

Manufacturing Sector

The manufacturing sector in Senegal is more developed than in most of the countries in Western African. Food-processing and handicraft industries are well established. Most of the food processing industries are located in the Cape Verde area, where many plants produce peanut oil. In favorable conditions Senegal is the leading producer of peanut oil in the French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa. However, the demand for this product is decreasing, and the government’s push for the greater privatization of markets has led to peanut cooperatives’ selling directly to local oil producers. In the chemicals industry, metalworking, mineral, and truck and bicycle assembly plants growth is aimed at processing the country’s indigenous raw materials and thus help in reducing dependence on imports. Senegal has fish canneries, a shoe factory, and a cement-manufacturing plant, flour mills, a textile plant, a sugar refinery, a tobacco factory, and a brewery, in addition to a naval shipyard, chemical plants, and an automobile assembly plant. The traditional handicrafts such as wood carvings, glass paintings, jewelry, painted fabrics, drums, and masks, are produced mainly in Dakar and Saint-Louis which is home to the most-skilled artisans.

Tourism

Senegal is beautifully placed on the westernmost point of the African continent, at the edge of Atlantic, and remains a hot destination for tourism in Sub Saharan Africa .The country possesses substantial amount of assets, due to the diversity in services and products it has to offer to its visitors. There are sea resorts, conference tourism, discovery tourism, sports fishing, ecotourism and hunting. The country has more than 700kms of coastline from north to south as along with a multi-ethnic welcoming and friendly population. The government of Senegal aims at augmenting the infrastructure capacity to double the current trend in tourism by 2010. The Leisure tourism in camps, vacation village are still predominant and is developing particularly in the Petite Côte (Little Coast) area, in Casamance and in the Fatick region.

The government has introduced the new legislation to enable the travel and tourism industry to work towards a well-defined lawful agenda. Additionally, the new regional developments are occurring to develop ecotourism services such as spas and cultural tours. With a well-planned strategy, Senegal will not only remain the number one destination in West Africa but also increase its tourism revenues.

Construction

The construction sector increased rapidly in the year 2007-08 because of the government preparations for the March 2008 Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit in Dakar. The sector contributed 5.3% to the GDP for in 2007.The Dakar’s port (Port Autonome de Dakar – PAD), the Dakar-Diamniadio motorway and the building of three electric power stations was done during these years. The remittances sent by the Senegalese abroad also boosted housing demand. Still construction growth slowed from 11.7 per cent in 2007 to only a 3.6 per cent in 2008 due to contractor difficulties linked to government debts. Growth is forecasted at 4 per cent in 2009.

For Further Reference

African Economic Outlook

Senegal Country Profile - BBC News

World Bank