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In the wide plains and fertile regions of Senegal, a silent revolution is unfolding-one that promises to redefine the role of youth in agriculture and bring long-term food security and economic opportunity to communities across the country. This transformation is being driven by an ambitious collaboration between the Senegalese national initiative PRODAC (Programme des Domaines Agricoles Communautaires) and the Israeli agricultural development company Green 2000. Together, they are not only modernizing farming methods but also reimagining agriculture as a path of empowerment for young Senegalese men and women.
In a world where rural youth often leave home in search of better opportunities in crowded cities, this partnership is providing a compelling alternative: a future built in the soil, powered by knowledge, innovation and self-reliance.
PRODAC’s Mission: Building a New Generation of Farmers
Senegal faces a complex development challenge. On one hand, over 60% of the population is under the age of 25, with thousands of young people entering the job market every year. On the other hand, despite having abundant arable land, a favorable climate and centuries-old agricultural traditions, the country continues to import large quantities of food and struggles with low productivity in its rural regions.
To address these issues simultaneously, the Senegalese government launched PRODAC, a far-reaching program aimed at turning rural land into dynamic centers of agricultural production, training and entrepreneurship. The goal: equip the country’s youth with the skills, infrastructure and support needed to become successful, independent farmers and agripreneurs.
The cornerstone of the initiative is the development of Domaines Agricoles Communautaires (DACs)-community-based agricultural domains designed to host hundreds of young farmers in each site. These DACs are not just fields, but comprehensive agro-industrial hubs that include:
- Modern irrigation and mechanization systems
- Greenhouses and crop diversification strategies
- Training centers and classrooms
- Processing and packaging facilities
- Dormitories, storage units and logistics platforms
Each DAC is envisioned as a self-contained ecosystem where young farmers receive practical training, manage real production units and engage in market-ready agribusiness.
To transform this vision into reality, PRODAC turned to Green 2000, a company with proven experience in agricultural transformation across Africa and beyond.
How Green 2000 Is Shaping Senegal’s Agricultural Future
Green 2000, founded in Israel, is renowned for its ability to plan, execute and support comprehensive agricultural development programs. With successful projects in Angola, Nigeria, Zambia, Equatorial Guinea and Ghana, the company brought to Senegal a model specifically tailored to the needs of rural communities and young farmers.
What Green 2000 introduced through PRODAC is its Agricultural Services and Training Center (ASTC) concept-an integrated approach that merges:
- Agricultural production (both open field and protected cultivation)
- Vocational education and technical training
- Farm management support
- Post-harvest infrastructure and market access
In each DAC, Green 2000’s model ensures that participants are not only taught how to plant, irrigate and harvest, but also how to analyze markets, create value chains, manage cash flow and scale their enterprises. Young people enter the program not as laborers, but as future agri-entrepreneurs with the tools and vision to succeed.
The company also places a strong emphasis on capacity building: local trainers are recruited, trained and eventually lead the education programs within each DAC. Many Green 2000 trainers are Senegalese who completed professional training abroad or in the company’s demonstration farms and academies in Israel.
This approach ensures that the knowledge remains within the communities and that each DAC can function independently over time.
Technology Meets Tradition: Innovation on the Ground
One of the most striking features of Green 2000’s involvement in PRODAC is the introduction of advanced yet accessible agricultural technology. Rather than relying on large-scale industrial equipment that is unsustainable for smallholders, Green 2000 introduced context-specific innovations, including:
- Drip irrigation systems, reducing water usage by up to 70% compared to traditional methods
- Modular greenhouses, enabling year-round production of vegetables and high-value crops
- Soil analysis tools, helping farmers understand and manage fertility with precision
- Mobile apps and digital platforms for monitoring production and accessing extension services
These innovations are not meant to replace local knowledge, but to enhance traditional farming practices. Many of the youth involved in PRODAC come from farming families but have never had access to modern tools or systematic training. The combination of traditional know-how with structured agronomic knowledge has produced remarkable results: increased yields, higher quality produce and, most importantly, growing confidence among young farmers.
The Power of Youth: Stories from the Field
Across Senegal, the success stories emerging from PRODAC’s DACs tell a powerful tale. Young participants who once saw no future in agriculture are now leading production units, managing teams and supplying vegetables to local markets, restaurants and school lunch programs.
In Sédhiou, for example, a group of 40 young women-most of them with no prior formal employment-were trained at a Green 2000-led DAC and now manage a profitable tomato greenhouse operation. They’ve reinvested their profits into expanding their plots and purchasing processing equipment to make tomato paste, which they plan to sell under a cooperative label.
In Louga, a cohort of trainees focused on aquaculture has begun producing catfish and tilapia for nearby towns. Their operation, which started as a small fish pond with support from Green 2000 experts, has now scaled to three ponds and a hatchery-and employs over a dozen people.
Such examples illustrate that PRODAC is not only producing food, but building careers, leadership skills and entrepreneurial confidence among Senegal’s youth.
The Broader Impact of the PRODAC-Green 2000 Partnership
The ripple effects of this collaboration extend beyond the farmers themselves. DACs supported by Green 2000 have become local economic engines, generating demand for seed suppliers, transport services, packaging businesses, veterinary care and more. Each center becomes a node in a growing value chain that strengthens the entire agricultural economy.
Moreover, the program contributes to:
- Food security, by reducing dependency on imports and boosting domestic production
- Gender equality, by actively recruiting and supporting young women
- Environmental sustainability, by promoting efficient water use and soil conservation
- Social stability, by reducing migration pressures and building local opportunity
Senegal’s ministries of youth, agriculture and rural development have hailed the model as one of the most impactful government programs of the past decade. The success has even caught the attention of neighboring countries, several of which are exploring similar partnerships with Green 2000 to replicate the DAC model.
Looking Ahead: Scaling Innovation Across the Nation
The future of the PRODAC-Green 2000 partnership lies in its ability to scale and adapt. Dozens of additional DACs are planned in the coming years, with each tailored to the specific geography, climate and market conditions of its location.
Green 2000 is also working with local stakeholders to expand:
- Digital extension services, allowing farmers to access training and advisory support via smartphone
- Agro-processing capabilities, enabling participants to create more value from raw products
- Export-readiness programs, to help Senegalese youth tap into regional and global markets
- Agri-finance literacy, equipping participants to manage loans, savings and investment responsibly
This strategic expansion is not about building more infrastructure alone-it’s about creating a resilient, innovative and inclusive agricultural generation that can shape Senegal’s economic destiny.
A New Chapter in Senegalese Agriculture
The collaboration between Green 2000 and PRODAC represents a unique convergence of policy, private sector expertise and community energy. It is a reminder that when youth are given the tools and trust to lead, they rise to the occasion with creativity, determination and vision.
For Senegal’s young farmers, this is more than a project-it is a new beginning. A chance to reclaim agriculture not as a symbol of poverty, but as a path of innovation, leadership and national pride.
And for the rest of the continent, it is a blueprint worth studying closely.
Credit: Green 2000 (Gad Alagem)
