Abstract
One of the basic debates in African development is whether agriculture can be the instrument for the transformation of a rural economy. A common question is whether agricultural policies can provide the impetus to move agriculture in developing economies from subsistence to commercial agriculture. Senegal’s Plan Sénégal Emergent (PSE) provides a data point in this discussion. Senegal and international donors invested in agricultural supply chains starting in 2012 to facilitate the emergence of commercial agriculture for peanuts, rice, and vegetables. This study focuses on these investments in the Senegal River Valley of northern Senegal. The empirical results presented in this study provide evidence that farms in the Senegal River Valley impacted by PSE have moved away from subsistence agriculture by planting more hectares in commercial crops.
Highlights
A basic tenet of development is structural transformation: the transition of labor from subsistence farming to non-farm employment simultaneously with the emergence of commercial agriculture to feed the growing labor force (Lewis 1954; Timmer 1988; Timmer and Akkus 2008; Sheahan and Barrett 2017).Commercial agriculture is often associated with farm specialization, even in developing economies, because of the classical gains from specialization noted by Adam Smith, other economies of scale in agricultural production, and comparative advantage (Carter and Lohmar 2002; Emran and Shilpi 2012; Yang and Liu 2012; Klasen et al 2016)
We examine evidence to determine whether an agriculturally led structural transformation is emerging in the irrigated rice-producing areas of the Senegal River Valley
Rice and onions dominated the treatment area in 2014 with 81.4%, and this domination increased to 91.9% in 2017
Summary
A basic tenet of development is structural transformation: the transition of labor from subsistence farming to non-farm employment simultaneously with the emergence of commercial agriculture to feed the growing labor force (Lewis 1954; Timmer 1988; Timmer and Akkus 2008; Sheahan and Barrett 2017).Commercial agriculture is often associated with farm specialization, even in developing economies, because of the classical gains from specialization noted by Adam Smith, other economies of scale in agricultural production, and comparative advantage (Carter and Lohmar 2002; Emran and Shilpi 2012; Yang and Liu 2012; Klasen et al 2016). One of the most stable and poorest countries in Africa, has since 2012 re-prioritized its investment to catalyze an agriculturally-led structural transformation. Since it gained independence from France in 1960, all three Senegalese presidential transitions have been peaceful, including most recently the 2012 election in which the challenger (President Macky Sall) defeated the incumbent; this stability potentially opens up non-agricultural growth opportunities (Mansoor et al 2017). In 2015 Senegal ranked 162 out of 188 on the human development index To address these and other issues, the government of Senegal has prioritized structural transformation, led by development of the agricultural sector but in conjunction with enabling non-agricultural development, as set forth in the PSE
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