Senegal - Geography
Senegal - Geography, The majority of Senegal consists of a low lying, smooth
and sandy plain that extends to the heights at the border with Guinea. Despite
its location in the tropics, the coastal climate is remarkably cool, due to a
northerly trade wind. Inland, the northeast pass, the Harmattan, can
bring hot, dry air from the Sahara. However, it is the annual displacement of
the intertropical convergence zone that gives the dominant seasonal variations
and the significant regional variations in rainfall. In the south goes the rainy
season from May to October, with up to 1500 mm of rainfall per year, so that
there is dense tropical forest towards the border with Guinea Bissau. At the
level of Dakar, approximately 500 mm, and the area north of this lies in the Sahel
Belt with sparse and unstable rainfall in July-September.
Natural geographical regions
In the Fleuve region along the Senegal River to the north and north,
rainfall falls below 300 mm per year for two to three months, so that arable
farming is dependent on irrigation. Irrigation projects of over 240,000 hectares
are planned in the hope of reducing large rice imports. However, unclear
ownership of the land and a lack of profitability have so far contributed to the
slow progress in implementation.
Almost half of the residents, mainly wolof, live in the peanut
basin, which extends approximately 500 km east from Dakar. It is this area that
has been the center of peanut production since the colonial period, which for
many years has been Senegal's all-dominant sales crop. The French introduced
peanut cultivation for the Senegalese in the mid-1800's, and this rescheduling of
production was crucial to the farmers' involvement in the monetary
economy. Still more of the traditional millet for self-sufficiency was replaced
by peanuts. The peasants bought consumables and food for the income, but as the
price of peanuts dropped through the 1900's, new land was brought in for peanut
cultivation while reducing set-aside. The result was soil depletion and large
food imports, which still burdens the economy.
The Ferlo area is like a desert-like plain north of the peanut belt. The
Peul nomads here have largely become permanent residents with their flocks
of cattle around deep water wells.
Casamance south of Gambia has enough rainfall for rice cultivation
without irrigation, which diola strains had developed to perfection
long before the Portuguese arrived. Due. the varied nature and long sandy
beaches have made the area a big part of the rising tourism. Separatist
movements have demanded independence since the 1980's, and unrest up through the
1990's meant a severe decline in tourism. Finally, with suburbs, Dakar can be
considered an independent region.
The population
The population is growing approximately 2.7% annually, similar to West Africa's
average, but the urban population is growing 4%. More than 40% now live in urban
development, which is significantly above the average in Africa, including 2
million. in the Dakar area. The government's AIDS campaigns have had some
success, so the number of people infected with HIV is significantly lower than
in many other African countries.
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Senegal has approximately 20 different ethnic groups, of which the five largest
constitute approximately 85% of the population. Wolof is approximately 43%, followed
by seres (15%), peul (14%), tukulor (9%) and diola (5%). It
is estimated that 300,000 Senegalese live in neighboring Mauritania. In the
country's southwestern province, Casamance, there are 60,000 internal refugees
as a result of abuse and fighting between the government and the independence
movement in the area.
Industries
After independence, the economy was regulated by the state with state-owned
enterprises and price and trade controls. In 1979, a structural adjustment
policy was initiated with support from the World Bank: lowering of tariff
barriers, privatization, removal of agricultural subsidies, limiting the number
of public servants, etc. The result was an increased social inequality without
the economy recovering. It was not until the late 1990's that economic growth
came into line with population growth.
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Throughout the period, the country has been heavily dependent on foreign,
especially French aid, which has a value of more than half the export
revenue. Senegal is the country in West Africa that receives the most aid per
year. per capita, but it is falling sharply.
Agriculture employs 3/4 of the population
and contributes about 16% to
GDP. Peanuts, sugarcane, millet, cotton and rice are the most important
crops. The major problem of agriculture is to produce enough food for the
population while supplying export crops and surpluses to the cities. Failure
rain has reduced crop yields since the 1970's and, together with the
deteriorating trade conditions, reduced import revenues. This, combined with an
inefficient agricultural policy, has meant low incomes to farmers and
necessitated a massive food import.
Fishing has an increasingly prominent place in the economy, both as
a supplier to industry and to self-sufficiency. Sea off the coast of Senegal is
very rich in fish, and the sector accounts for 15% of employment and almost 1/3 of
export earnings.
Mining. Mining is growing; Gold mining began in 1997, and natural
gas production is expected to grow following the discovery of a large natural
gas field at Thiès. Large phosphate deposits near Thiès are exploited and give
rise to the production of fertilizers. There are also unused iron and gold
deposits.
The vast majority of the industry is located in and around
Dakar. These are primarily light industries, which produce for the local market:
oil mills, sugar refineries, food industries, textile industry and the like. a
lack of a capable home market, high production costs and a bureaucratic
government policy, the competitiveness of the industry is low, which pervasive
privatization seeks to remedy.
Tourism is a major source of foreign exchange, accounting for almost
10% of export revenue. Most tourists take advantage of the pleasant climate in
December-February for a beach holiday at the long sandy beaches, but also
the Niokolo Koba National Park in eastern Senegal and bird life in the river
deltas are tourist destinations.
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