Safety Net in Agricultural Development and Agricultural Credit

Activities of Peasant Organization and Promotion Measures for Rice Cultivation in the Lower Senegal

Abstract

This paper examines the activities of a peasant organization, which can be regarded as a partnership between the community and government, in agricultural credit and field expansion. It also describes the existence and transformation of the peasants' safety net, which appears to work against the activities of the peasant organization. First, it focuses on the measures to promote rice culture and the agricultural credit system that were implemented by the Senegalese government after the introduction of the Structural Adjustment Program. The government sought to develop the rice fields in the Senegal River Valley in an attempt to improve the nation's self-sufficiency in terms of the availability of rice and to resolve the trade shortages. Second, based on my field research in Village T in the Lower Senegal River Valley, the paper focuses on the mediation of agricultural credit and field exploitation that has been implemented by the peasant organization. In a credit repayment process, the peasant organization functions as a safety net against several risks that the peasants face: the peasants develop a credit repayment system into the safety net that is seen in other aspect of their daily life. Furthermore, through field exploitation and canal expansion, which is also managed by the peasant organization, the peasant organization has given new fields to younger men to cultivate. While a series of agricultural development initiatives has enhanced the economy of the village, it has reduced the requirement for the safety net on the part of the peasants.