Senegal
Samba Sow
Land degradation in Senegal has led to severe consequences both in rural and urban areas. About 5% of the forest was lost annually in the past two decades. Salinity affects 45% of cropland and 34% of the land area is affected by land degradation. As a result of this and other factors, Senegal’s total agricultural factor productivity average growth rate in 1961-2005 was -0.7%. Using Tradeoff Analysis system - Minimum Data model (TOA-MD), we estimate the cost of degradation of grazing land. We also use empirical equations coupled with a process-based model to estimate the cost of forest and cropland degradation. Results show that the cost of land degradation is about 5% of the GDP. The country’s efforts to address land degradation requires bold steps to address its current weaknesses. For example Senegal is among the African countries whose expenditure on agricultural research and development is below the region’s target of 1% of agricultural GDP. The country also requires to implement bolder decentralization programs as it ranked the 8th most decentralized country in sub-Saharan Africa. Taking these steps and other strategies could help significantly to address land degradation in the country.
» Policy brief
