Senegal is one the least developed countries of the world; it is a victim of undernourishment and
environmental degradation. Since the French colonisation, the country has specialised on peanut production,
a cash crop exported to France in exchange for imports of broken rice. Food crops were progressively
replaced by imports of highly subsidised staples.
The aim of this work is to analyse the causes of food insecurity and its consequences for the population
and the environment of Senegal. The demographic evolution of the country is a major cause of food
insecurity because the local food production has been unable to satisfy the growing demand for food.
Furthermore, since independence from France, the Senegalese government has continued to promote peanut
production to the detriment of a diversified agriculture, orientated to local needs.
The peanut monoculture and the blocking of subsistence agriculture by the imports of subsidised staples,
has had heavy consequences on the social and environmental levels in Senegal. The lack of diversification
and development of agricultural production continues to cause unemployment and the exodus of workers
from rural areas. Resource-poor farmers are more vulnerable to drastic changes in the climate and the
exchange rate of raw materials in the world stock market when trying to feed their households. From an
environmental point of view, non-sustainable agriculture promotes the impoverishment of soils and
desertification. Moreover, climate change is causing a drop in rainfall and, due to the rising sea level, coastal
erosion and the salinisation of soils and groundwater are also on the increase.
Agroecology is discussed as a sustainable alternative to the Senegalese agricultural production system.
By strengthening the natural, human, social and physical assets, agroecology can reach better yields whilst
minimising risk. The main advantage of agroecology is that the techniques advocated are labour and
knowledge intensive (rather than capital intensive) which plays to the strengths of the country. In Senegal,
making agroecology a viable solution requires important changes in the political order to involve the farmers
in the decision making process. Peanut monoculture has degraded the natural assets so important changes
are also required to restore the fertility of the degraded soil. Agroecology represents an interesting solution
for Senegal as well as other developing countries facing the same demographic and environmental
challenges, because it allows an increase in agricultural yield, and a better management of natural resources
to favour the adaptation to climate change.