Dynamics of the Dairy Subsector in the Sahelian Area: Milk Supply and Demand in the Central Agropastoral Zone of Senegal

Abstract

In Senegal, like in many developing countries in West Africa, the weight of imported milk and dairy products in the trade balance led to making a priority of improving local dairy production. An artificial insemination program was thus launched in 1994 in Senegal in order to improve domestic dairy products. This study was initiated within the context of the Concerted Research Project for the Development of Livestock in West Africa (PROCORDEL). It aimed at better understanding the dairy milk subsector in Senegal’s peanut basin. The collected data concerned 96 farmers, 50 milk and dairy traders and 120 consumers located in the areas of Kaolack and Fatick. Results showed that animal production tended toward intensification with a decrease in the number of cows per farmer because of the reduced grazing space. In both study areas, the milk production of mixed breeds was on average 5.6 L/cow/day. Feed availability was identified by the agrofarmers as the main constraint to production, especially in the dry season. The marketing system was characterized by a short channel, operated by women who faced major constraints related to the insufficiency of the milk supply produced, and the frequent lack of transportation means, particularly in landlocked areas. In addition to a low milk supply, there was almost no milk processing units in the region, and farmers’ organizations in the subsector were little effective. The demand in dairy products, however, is becoming more and more important and diversified with the increase in imports. It was also correlated to the level of income and consumers’ food preferences and habits.