Hot dry season campaign 2026: rice harvest accelerates in the valley

The 2026 hot dry season campaign is entering its harvest phase in the Senegal River valley, where 47,384 hectares have been sown, an increase of 1,300 hectares compared to the previous campaign.

According to Abou Sall, Director of Development and Support for Local Authorities at the Society for the Development and Exploitation of Lands in the Senegal River Delta and the Senegal and Falémé River Valleys (SAED), 85% of the sown areas are already harvested.

There remain around 7,000 hectares to be harvested, mainly in the Dagana delegation, which alone concentrates around 34,000 hectares, or almost 70% of the areas sown in the valley.

“85% of the areas are already harvested,” said Abou Sall, specifying that the start of the campaign had experienced some delays, in particular due to difficulties linked to financing and marketing.

However, the mobilization of additional combine harvesters should make it possible to speed up operations and quickly complete the harvest.

In Grand-Digue, producers say they are reassured by the improved availability of agricultural equipment. Alioune Gaye, president of the Union of Grand-Digue, welcomes the support of the SAED, the Dagana delegation and other local actors.

“At first we had concerns. But currently the work is progressing well,” he said.

Around twenty machines are mobilized in the Grand-Digue locker, whose potential is estimated at 3,600 hectares.

Also in Mboundoum, the harvest is progressing satisfactorily. The area covers 3,300 hectares, of which approximately 2,500 hectares were sown during this campaign. Around thirty machines operate in different locations to speed up operations.

“Thanks to the intervention of SAED, CIRIZ and other partners, the harvest is going very well,” testified Amadou Kane, vice-president of the Mboundoum Union.

Producers hope to complete operations before the end of the month, subject to favorable weather conditions.