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2nd German-Senegalese Economic Summit successfully completed

What do Energy Mix and Food Processing have in common?

The puzzle has been solved at the 2nd German-Senegalese Economic Summit.

On 7 November 2014 more than 20 Senegalese Managers again came to attend the 2nd German-Senegalese Economic Summit in Düsseldorf. The delegation was led by Ms. Maïmouna Ndoye Seck, Minister for Energy and Development of Renewable Energies.

Capacity audience at the Düsseldorf Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 7 November 2014 © SenGermany.

German and Senegalese experts debated all day long on approaches to solutions offered by the energy mix through the example of the German experience gained in the food processing branch, and on which requirements are to be placed upon the energy mix, so as to enable the agricultural sector in Senegal and its entire production chain to guarantee food security without malfunctions and in a sustainable fashion in a country having only little energy resources.

  Maïmouna Ndoye Seck, Minister for Energy and                        Bernd Jablonowski, Director interpack trade fair 
  Development of Renewable Energies

The energy mix side by side with food security

In the case of Senegal the solution is obvious from Germany's point of view: The share of renewable energies shall be considerably increased in the energy mix and so-called island solutions shall more intensively be offered, since a lot of agricultural areas are not connected to the power supply grid. This is the statement suggested in the Energy Minister's speech. Ms. Maïmouna Ndoye Seck praised in her speech the excellent actual values for wind energy (6m/s on average) and solar radiation (1.850 up to 2.250 kWh/year/m2 3.000 hours/year) in Senegal, and showed on a map how the power supply system looks like today and how it is intended to look like in the next few years. From this perspective the share of renewable energies must be considerably increased in Senegal, if food security is supposed to be guaranteed in Senegal on a short-term basis.

Apart from that, the costs of island solutions are significantly lower and more adaptable than the construction of power networks throughout the whole country, whose completion will take several decades.

  Souleymane Niang, moderator of the panel on energy mix                Amadou Ibrahima Sow, moderator of  the panel on food processing

Self-help is possible in Senegal

Regardless of the theme complex "approach to solutions and requirements", the experts from Senegal gave lectures about the actual and target situation in these two sectors Energy and Food Processing, and triggered exciting discussions. Mr. Simon Ndène from the Senegalese Development Fund for Agriculture, Forestry and Livestock made it clear in his lecture that, with a fee collection of 10 CFA Francs (0.015 Eurocent) per kilo in agriculture, Senegal would be able to cover the necessary investments in the primary sector. Similar solutions could also be offered for the supply of electricity in the agricultural areas, all the more so as in Senegal the electric power from fossil energy sources is strongly subsidized with annually more than 100 billion CFA Francs, the equivalent of more than 152 million Euros. A portion of these funds could be devoted to the power supply in rural areas, which are treated like Cinderella in the strongly centralized Senegal.

Save Food on the table

Food wasting was a topic also presented by Bernd Jablonowski, Save Food initiator and Director of the interpack trade fair. His lecture clearly showed that even in developing countries like Senegal, which strive for food security, many foodstuffs are unfortunately being wasted. This paradox is due to a lack of knowledge in food processing: poor refrigeration technology and hardly cooled warehouses being insufficient for combating the potato moth, which is a deficiency already criticized by Stefan Rüdig, Sales Manager at the agricultural machinery plant Grimme on the occasion of his visit to Senegal in 2013, fluctuations in the power supply as a fact deeply regretted by all Senegalese entrepreneurs, the optimum use of water in agriculture as mentioned by Richard Clemens, Director at VDMA, and many other factors impair the production of food and lead to the destruction of foodstuffs as well as to a spoiled harvest in a country like Senegal, where one part of the population is still suffering from malnutrition.

Lesson of the Conference

Entrepreneurs are always looking forward to unsaturated markets, where their investments are worthwhile and high yields are generated on a long-term basis. This is true in Senegal, a country with an immense demand in the energy and food sector. In its new investment plan the Senegalese government reckons with a need for investment amounting to 10,000 billion CFA Francs, the equivalent of more than 15 billion Euros, in order to hoist the country up to the level of emerging countries. While this is a big challenge, it is certainly worthwhile for investors showing an interest in West Africa, since no other country is politically as safe as Senegal in that region.

Ibrahim Guèye