Sadio Mané to Lay Foundation Stone for 11 Billion CFA Franc Agro-Industrial Park in Bambali

By Staff Writer

Senegalese football star Sadio Mané will, on Saturday, Sept. 19, lay the foundation stone for an 11 billion CFA franc agro-industrial park in his hometown of Bambali, in Senegal’s southern Sédhiou region.

The project, known as SM10 Agro, is expected to create about 1,000 direct jobs in its initial phase while boosting agricultural production and processing in a region where significant quantities of mangoes are lost each year because of inadequate storage and processing facilities.

Mané unveiled the project Thursday at a news conference in Dakar attended by several officials, including Bakary Séga Bathily, director general of Senegal’s National Agency for the Promotion of Investments and Major Works, or APIX.

Mané said the initiative is intended to transform locally produced agricultural goods and ensure that more of the economic benefits remain within Senegal.

The Sédhiou region loses an estimated 30 to 40 percent of its mango production because of insufficient storage and processing capacity, he said.

“I want the wealth of our land to stay here, at home,” Mané said.

The project will include a 500-hectare mango plantation with about 78,000 trees, as well as processing plants within the Bambali agro-industrial park. One of the facilities will specialize in producing mango-based butter.

Aminata Tope, deputy director of SM10 Agro, said the first mango harvest is expected within three years. The processing facility will have an annual production capacity of about 10,500 tonnes.

In addition to the initial 11 billion CFA franc investment, SM10 Agro plans a further investment of 3.22 billion CFA francs, Tope said.

Mané said the project’s transportation, supply, and other supporting services are also expected to generate indirect employment.

The development will include an agricultural training center aimed at providing young people with practical skills and creating greater economic opportunities for youth and women in the region.

“I want the young people and women of my region to have real training opportunities,” Mané said.

The training center will also include housing and a research and development facility, according to Tope.

Bathily described SM10 Agro as a broader regional development initiative rather than simply a private investment.

“This is not an individual investment. It is a territorial economic development project,” he said.

Bathily said the project will benefit from five years of tax and customs exemptions on the importation of certain equipment.