Senegal maize pact delivers 12,000 tonnes against 25,000-tonne target
Senegal’s maize sector has reviewed a 2025-26 commercialization agreement that initially targeted 25,000 tonnes but ultimately used 12,000 tonnes as its marketing base. Financing, collection, transport and delivery gaps constrained implementation, while a new 30,000-tonne agreement is expected in October 2026.
Marketing agreement falls short of initial target
Senegal’s maize producers, industrial buyers, financiers and market regulators have reviewed the implementation of a commercialization agreement intended to move 25,000 tonnes of locally produced maize during the 2025-26 campaign. The assessment, held in Kaolack, identified financing, collection and delivery problems that prevented the arrangement from reaching its original objective.
The agreement was signed on December 2, 2025, by producers and industrial companies after the Agricultural Market Regulation Agency, known as ARM, helped connect the two sides. Its purpose was to strengthen the formal market for Senegalese maize and improve producers’ access to industrial buyers.
However, Papa Banda Dièye, president of Senegal’s National College of Maize Producers, said only 12,000 tonnes were ultimately retained as the commercialization base, compared with the initial 25,000-tonne objective. Some participants were unable to meet their commitments, he said, leaving a significant gap between agreed tonnage and actual deliveries.
Yaya Badji, ARM’s secretary-general, said the review documented difficulties involving finance, crop collection and discrepancies between contracted volumes and quantities delivered. The exercise was designed to provide a comprehensive assessment of the agreement between producers and industrial users, according to APS, as reported by AllAfrica.
Collection and transport constrain producer access
Producer representatives nevertheless described the creation of an official marketing channel as an important advance. A structured route to industrial buyers can give growers a clearer outlet for their harvest, but its effectiveness depends on the ability to assemble maize in producing areas and transport it to purchasing or processing sites.
Dièye identified collection and evacuation of production as major constraints. He also cited transport difficulties and administrative obstacles encountered while moving maize, including controls and payments on certain roads. According to the producer representative, these additional costs are ultimately passed back to growers.
Disputes over adjustments applied to delivered quantities were another concern. Dièye said such discrepancies were harmful to producers, underscoring the need for clearer rules governing measurement, acceptance and settlement when maize reaches industrial buyers.
These operational problems are particularly important because Senegal remains heavily dependent on foreign maize. Fatma Fall Dièye, director-general of La Banque Agricole, said the country imports more than 400,000 tonnes annually, with an estimated value of CFA80 billion. The agreement’s original 25,000-tonne target was therefore modest relative to the stated scale of imports, while the 12,000-tonne commercial base represented an even smaller share of domestic requirements.
Bank expands finance with payment safeguards
Access to finance remains one of the sector’s main challenges, according to ARM. La Banque Agricole raised its maize commercialization portfolio to CFA2 billion for the 2025-26 campaign and introduced safeguards intended to secure repayment.
The mechanism included the irrevocable domiciliation of payments made by industrial buyers into accounts held by the bank. Fall Dièye said the credit provided under the arrangement was repaid in full, a result that could support greater bank participation in future maize marketing operations.
The bank also intends to strengthen production finance through the “Grenier du maïs” project, with an envelope of approximately CFA600 million. This would complement its commercialization funding by supporting the supply side of the value chain.
New 30,000-tonne protocol planned
Sector participants are expected to sign a new commercialization agreement in October 2026 with a target of 30,000 tonnes. Before that target can translate into larger purchases of local maize, the parties will need to address the collection, transport, financing and delivery issues identified during the latest review.
A maize-sector forum scheduled for October 15-16, 2026, in Dakar is expected to continue discussions on production, commercialization and processing. The full repayment of the bank-backed credit provides a positive foundation, but the gap between the first agreement’s target and realized commercial base shows that finance alone will not resolve the sector’s market-access constraints.
