DETERMINANTS OF ONION SELF-SUFFICIENCY IN SENEGAL: SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE SUBSECTOR

The production of onion has been steadily increasing in Senegal over the past ten years to reach a level never witnessed in 2016 (393,225 tons). Despite this bumper crop, the coverage of annual onion demand for domestic use (150 000 to 250 000 tons) is still dependent on imports. The objective of this study is to identify the levers to consolidate the development of the onion subsector along the entire value chain and contribute to food security. The analysis was conducted on the basis of interviews with the actors and a literature search. The obstacles of food self-sufficiency that come out of this analysis are the: Seasonality of crops; Consumers' preference for imported onions deemed to be of superior quality to that of local onions; Large post-harvest losses (5% to 10% in the field, 20% to 40% respectively for three and six month storage) due to the lack of adequate storage structures; Multiplicity of actors and the absence of well-structured marketing channels; Lack of adequate technologies for agri-food processing. Considering the constraints mentioned above, sectoring the production areas by period, and improving the storage and processing conditions are the keys solutions to onion self-sufficiency in Senegal.