An Economic Analysis of Agricultural Production in Senegal: A Case Study of the Thiès and Diourbel Regions

Abstract

Enterprise budgets and linear programming techniques are used to determine the profitability of individual crops and optimal cropping patterns for typical farms located in Diourbel and Thiès, two regions in the center of the Senegalese Peanut Basin. An intensification analysis through the introduction of La Fleur 11, which is a relatively new ground-nut seed variety, and operating capital constraints are also included in this study. Finally, farm income is compared with two poverty line measures. The profitability results show that groundnut exhibits the highest gross returns and net profits per hectare and millet the lowest net profits per hectare. Moreover, La Fleur 11 exhibits a higher yield when compared to traditional groundnut varieties such as 55-437. The results of the linear programming model suggest that groundnut production is the most profitable use of agricultural land in Diourbel, while in Thiès sorghum shows the highest profitability. Excess labor is found in all the cases examined while the opportunity cost of land ranges from FCFA 25,551 to FCFA 318,612 (US $39.31 to US $490.17, at an exchange rate of FCFA 650/US $1 for 1997). The farm income analysis indicates that the level of poverty is severe in the area of the study. In addition, large farms are not as poor as small farms, and non-farm income could contribute to poverty alleviation.