Senegal targets oil palm revival with Indonesian support – Milling Middle East & Africa Magazine

SENEGAL – Senegal is seeking to revive its oil palm sector with technical support and expertise from Indonesia, as the West African country looks to expand domestic production, reduce dependence on imported vegetable oils and strengthen local agro-industrial value chains.

The initiative includes plans to develop 60,000 hectares of oil palm plantations, highlighting the government’s renewed interest in a crop with significant potential for rural employment, food processing and industrial development.

Indonesia is an important partner for the initiative because of its extensive experience in developing oil palm cultivation, processing and integrated value chains.

The country has become the world’s leading palm oil producer, with the crop supporting large networks of plantations, smallholders, processors and exporters.

With nearly 46.7 million tons projected for 2025/2026, Indonesia is the world’s leading palm oil producer and exporter, according to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Senegal’s cooperation with Indonesia could therefore provide access to technical knowledge covering improved planting material, plantation management, processing and the organization of smallholder production systems.

The proposed expansion comes as Senegal seeks to strengthen agricultural sovereignty and increase domestic value addition.

Data compiled by the FAO shows, for example, that the area dedicated to oil palm cultivation in Senegal has stagnated at around 11,800 hectares and has never exceeded 12,000 hectares in the decade 2015-2024.

Oil palm is native to West Africa, but production has increasingly shifted towards Southeast Asia, where Indonesia and Malaysia now dominate global supplies.

Senegal’s domestic sector remains comparatively small, leaving the country reliant on imported vegetable oils to meet consumer and industrial demand. Reviving oil palm production could help retain more value within the domestic economy while creating new opportunities for farmers and processors.

The planned development would also significantly expand Senegal’s oil palm production base.

For the investment to generate sustainable returns, however, development will require suitable planting material, access to fertilizer and technical services, efficient harvesting systems and processing facilities located close to plantations.

Indonesia’s experience with smallholder-based production could be particularly relevant. Its nucleus-estate and smallholder models have linked farmers with larger plantation and processing operations while providing access to inputs, technical support, and markets.

Such approaches could be adapted to Senegalese conditions, provided land use, farmer participation, and environmental safeguards are carefully managed.

The revival also presents environmental and sustainability considerations. Indonesia’s palm oil expansion has been associated with significant deforestation and land-use concerns, underscoring the need to ensure Senegal’s future development avoids converting forests and other high-value ecosystems.

Sustainable land-use planning, traceability and responsible plantation management will therefore be important components of any large-scale expansion.

For Senegal, the partnership with Indonesia could mark a new phase for an underdeveloped but strategically important agricultural value chain.

If investment in plantations is matched with processing capacity, farmer support and sustainability standards, the initiative could strengthen domestic oil production while generating employment and new agro-industrial opportunities.

Similar approaches to cooperation in the oil palm sector with Indonesia have already been tested with other countries on the African continent.

In Tanzania, for example, the authorities initiated cooperation with the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) in 2025 to benefit from training, technical support, and skills transfer in plantation development.

In Nigeria, Africa’s leading palm oil producer, a memorandum of understanding signed in 2024 between local producers and GAPKI also provides for the sharing of knowledge and technologies to improve the sector’s productivity.

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