Senegal’s palm oil gambit: can 60,000 hectares and Indonesian expertise finally end import reliance?

Senegal is placing a high-stakes bet on its oilseed future. After years of stagnation below 12,000 hectares, the country’s oil palm sector could be on the verge of an unprecedented leap forward, thanks to a partnership with Indonesia, the undisputed global leader in palm oil production.

A low-key meeting held on September 11 in Dakar may prove to be a turning point for a sector that has been at a standstill for a decade. Facing Indonesia’s ambassador, Senegal’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock (MASAE) laid out a project matching its ambitions: 60,000 hectares of oil palm plantations to be developed in the center and south of the country. That would multiply the current cultivated area by five.

The two sides are now working to establish a joint technical working group to steer the next steps. However, on critical details such as the precise timeline and financing arrangements, Senegalese officials remain tight-lipped.

A sector crippled by a decade of inertia

The scale of the bet reflects the depth of the backlog. Data compiled by the FAO paints a stark picture: between 2015 and 2024, the area dedicated to oil palm cultivation in Senegal never exceeded 12,000 hectares, hovering around 11,800 hectares. This stagnation naturally translated into frozen industrial palm oil production, stuck at roughly 14,000 tonnes over the same period.

Consequently, to meet unabating domestic demand, Senegal has had no choice but to open the import floodgates. On average, 148,100 tonnes of palm oil were purchased abroad annually between 2015 and 2024—peaking at 195,937 tonnes in 2017—with an average annual bill approaching $108 million, culminating at $172 million in 2020. This costly dependency is clearly in Dakar’s crosshairs as it pursues a food sovereignty strategy.

Indonesia: a heavyweight partner on the global stage

Choosing Indonesia is no coincidence. With production estimated at 46.7 million tonnes for the 2025/2026 season, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Asian archipelago stands unchallenged at the pinnacle of global palm oil production—and also ranks first in exports. This supremacy is built on decades of expertise in varietal selection, plantation management and industrial processing.

For Dakar, the challenge goes beyond simply expanding cultivated areas: it is about capturing this know-how through technology transfer and local capacity building, a prerequisite for building a truly productive and better-structured sector.

A model already tested elsewhere on the continent

Senegal is not breaking new ground: other African countries have already forged similar partnerships with Jakarta. In Tanzania, authorities signed a cooperation agreement in 2025 with the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI), covering training, technical support and skills transfer. In Nigeria, Africa’s top palm oil producer, a memorandum of understanding concluded in 2024 between local producers and GAPKI pursues the same goals: sharing knowledge and technology to boost productivity.

The question now is whether Dakar can turn this opportunity into success where others have merely laid the groundwork.

By Marguerite Ndongo — Political and Security Analyst