Madar (Nouakchott) - The first week of work to draft Mauritania's national rice development strategy opened in Nouakchott on Monday, October 26, 2026, at the initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty through the national rural development company SONADER, in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD), the Mauritanian News Agency (AMI) reported.
The strategy, spanning ten years in two phases, aims at self-sufficiency in rice and at improving the productivity, quality and competitiveness of domestic output, particularly in the Trarza, Brakna, Gorgol and Guidimakha regions.
The ministry's secretary general described the rice sector as "an important economic lever" that creates jobs and income and reduces dependence on foreign markets, while citing challenges in water management, maintenance of irrigation works, seeds, financing, mechanisation, harvesting, storage and climate change.
The CARD representative said Mauritania joined the coalition in March 2026. Founded in 2008 and grouping 37 African countries, the coalition aims to double the continent's rice output from 28 million tonnes in 2018 to 56 million tonnes by 2030.
The week's work will focus on assessing the sector's achievements and difficulties, ahead of setting a vision and targets that meet the needs of producers and consumers.
