Senegal is betting big on Indonesian expertise to revive a palm oil sector stuck at around 12,000 hectares for a decade. The proposed 60,000-hectare expansion could reshape local supply, but it also raises questions about costs, jobs, and the everyday price of cooking oil.

A quiet meeting in Dakar on September 11 may prove to be a turning point for a sector that has been at a standstill for ten years. Senegal’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock (MASAE) presented Indonesia’s ambassador with an ambitious plan: develop 60,000 hectares of oil palm plantations in the center and south of the country. That would multiply the current cultivated area fivefold.

Both sides are now working to set up a joint technical working group to steer the next steps. On sensitive points such as the precise timeline and financing structure, Senegalese officials remain tight-lipped.

A sector held back by a decade of inertia

The challenge is huge, matching the backlog. Data compiled by the FAO shows that between 2015 and 2024, the area devoted to oil palm in Senegal never exceeded 12,000 hectares, hovering around 11,800 hectares. This stagnation has naturally affected industrial palm oil production, which also remained flat at about 14,000 tonnes over the period.

As a result, to meet steady domestic demand, Senegal has no choice but to import heavily. On average, 148,100 tonnes of palm oil were purchased abroad each year between 2015 and 2024 — peaking at 195,937 tonnes in 2017 — with an average annual bill approaching $108 million, reaching $172 million in 2020. This costly dependence is what Dakar now aims to tackle through its food sovereignty strategy.

Why Indonesia is a heavyweight partner

Choosing Indonesia is no coincidence. With production estimated at 46.7 million tonnes for the 2025/2026 season, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Asian archipelago dominates global palm oil output — 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 stakes go beyond simply expanding cultivated land: the goal is to tap into that know-how through technology transfer and local capacity building, a prerequisite for building a productive and better-structured industry.

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 leading palm oil producer, a memorandum of understanding concluded in 2024 between local producers and GAPKI aims at the same objectives: sharing knowledge and technology to boost productivity.

The question now is whether Dakar can turn the plan into reality where others have only laid the groundwork.

By Mariama Hamani — Analyst