The government takes the lead October 17, 2026

At the end of the workshop on Tabaski, the Minister in charge of Livestock, Me Ousmane Diagne, drew a generally satisfactory assessment of the 2026 campaign. For that of 2027, scheduled for mid-May, he is counting on the capitalization of good lessons, or even on their improvement, with the ambition of financing production.

RUFISQUE – “To govern is to plan”, we are used to saying. Seven months before the 2027 edition of Tabaski, the Minister in charge of Livestock, Me Ousmane Diagne, took the lead by organizing a dedicated workshop. This meeting brought together a range of stakeholders from the livestock sub-sector as well as partners (Defence and Security Forces, banks, etc.), on Thursday October 15, 2026. “Usually, the evaluation workshop took place in March. Organizing it in October gives us enough room to maneuver to try to improve what has been done well, but above all to rectify what needs to be,” he declared. The stakeholders, especially the breeders, unanimously welcomed the anticipatory approach of the supervisory authority, which consists of taking the Tabaski operation head on. The discussions on this question and related subjects lasted more than six clock turns. Giving feedback on the 2026 campaign, the minister draws a satisfactory assessment. “Overall, the outcome was a success. Out of a target of 900,000 sheep, we obtained 1,069,356 heads, or 118.82%, with a remainder of 144,727 subjects recorded the day after the festival,” he underlines. According to him, these convincing results were obtained thanks to the support of the State, through the Stabulation Support Fund (Fonstab), and the support of financial partners. An assessment put into perspective by breeders who highlight the significant number of unsold items, pointing to the opening of the market to imports. On this point, however, they were lenient and indulgent towards Me Diagne who was not in office during the previous campaign.

With a view to the success of the 2027 campaign already underway, the breeders took the opportunity to present their grievances to the authority, particularly relating to the urgency of putting in place appropriate governance (organization of points of sale, high cost of feed for livestock, fight against livestock theft, clandestine slaughters, financing, etc.), in order to guarantee the smooth running of Operation Tabaski. Attentive to their requests, the minister promises, with the support of his services, in particular the Livestock Department, to provide solutions. Beyond maintaining the achievements learned from the previous edition, the ambition of the supervisory authority is now to finance production. Thus, Ousmane Diagne affirms that the next financing will particularly target production actors. The aim is to ensure that what the population consumes for Tabaski is produced in Senegal.