An Integrated Investment Appraisal of Paddy Irrigation A Case of Senegal River Valley

According to the FAOStat 2015, agriculture contributes 17 percent of the Senegalese GDP and provides 68.89 percent of the total employment of the economically active population with females accounting for 48.50 percent of that labor force. Poverty is still a challenge in Senegal with an estimated 46.7 percent of the total population living below the national poverty line. Rice is one of the main food crops in Senegal, mostly grown by female subsistence farmers. Senegal has emerged to be one of the chief consumers of rice in West Africa and the largest importers of broken rice with approximately 70 percent of total domestic consumption imported. The project evaluated in this paper introduces paddy irrigation to increase production and introduces aromatic varieties to cater to urban preferences and reduce expensive exports. Keywords: Paddy Production, Irrigation Farming, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Financial Analysis, Economic Analysis, Risk Analysis, Risk Management.