gricultural development is seen as key to alleviating rural poverty and driving the national economy of Mauritania.
After mining, livestock and arable farming are the most widespread economic activities and sources of income for the majority of the population. They contribute 19% to GDP and employ half the national workforce, and their potential allows great hope for the future in terms of self-sufficiency in food, job creation and diversifying exports.
Development of the livestock and arable sectors has been a government priority for the past 10 years, during which they have received 30 to 40% of the state’s investment.

With sun and fertile land, Mauritania can produce organic vegetables and fruit.

Traditionally, Mauritanians are nomadic herders rather than farmers, grazing livestock and moving from pasture to pasture. The challenge is to encourage farmers to modernize production to satisfy domestic demand, as well as develop exports and avoid the environmental damage caused by nomadic grazing.
The Ministry of Rural Development and the Environment wants to link the development of livestock rearing with arable farming. The aim is to provide good quality fodder for livestock farmers and to prevent the displacement of herds for grazing.

With 80% of the land desert and subject to severe droughts, agricultural development depends on water. The main source is the Senegal River which flows through a fertile valley covering 321,230 acres in the South of the country.
Together with Mali and Senegal, Mauritania is working to harness the river waters to irrigate the valley.
Elsewhere, dams have been created to maximize water retention, and combined with efforts to use underground water sources to provide water for people and animals.

Europe and North America are huge potential markets for agricultural and animal products. Europe is only five days’ drive away and a moderate climate is on the Mauritanians’ side. In winter, Europe’s cold weather means the only products available are from under the ground, whereas in Mauritania they can still produce organic vegetables and fruit.

However, Mauritania is also facing increasing desertification, along with other countries in the southern Sahara. The Ministry of Rural Development and the Environment recognizes this is a global problem and has appealed for investment to help countries like Mauritania fight the effects of desertification.
Investment is needed both in financial terms and agricultural expertise. The Senegal River valley has been opened up to allow private-sector involvement, national and international, in owning and managing the land.

Foreign expertise in marketing will help growers send vegetables to Europe.

The Mauritanian National Credit and Savings Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (UNCACEM) funds cooperatives to transform agriculture in the Senegal valley from subsistence farming to competitive production. It helps to finance 90% of the people living in the valley... who would otherwise have little recourse to funds, and up to 90% of production, mostly of rice and market garden produce. To date, it has financed 300 village cooperatives with some 150,000 members. “Our aim is to help the poorest, those who have never had access to a banking service and who can’t even hope for access because their circumstances don’t suit classical bank funding,” says UNCACEM Director General Bouh Ould Sidi Ahmed.

The ambitious Integrated Development Program for Irrigated Agriculture (PDIAIM) also has been launched, with funding already in the region of $135 million. It aims to diversify production, open up the sector and increase productivity. Meanwhile, the Oasis project has been running since the mid-’80s to raise the living standards of poor people in the Oasis zones. It is backed by the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

The whole of Mauritania, except the Senegal valley, is the focus of the Management of Natural Resources in Rain-Fed Zones Project (PGRNP), which represents an investment of $25 million in rural development over five years. It has allowed growers and livestock farmers to improve their conditions.

“First and foremost, it is a project that reinforces the capabilities of the communities it benefits, rather than an investment project,” says Chief of Project Hamada Ould Didi. “It is the communities themselves who organize, decide their investment priorities and manage their allocation.”

There is still a need for foreign agricultural expertise, particularly in marketing and distribution. “If we want to distribute bananas or beans in Europe, we have to know the distribution network. It is not enough to produce them; we must produce them at the exact time they are wanted and to the standard required,” says Bouh Ould Sidi Ahmed. “We don’t need that many — ten growers with 99 acres each would be enough to develop the sector. We cannot develop the irrigated sector without partners. We need people who work directly with the farmers, who know the business and the techniques.”

Some foreign investment is already in place. The French company Grands Domaines de Mauritanie is operating with some success. It has its own infrastructure, ships and distribution contracts.