"After several meetings held at the Market Regulation Agency (ARM) regarding market regulation, particularly concerning potatoes, we observed that the decrees adopted to ensure a balanced coexistence between agribusinesses and small farmers have not been respected."

This heartfelt plea was made during a press conference held in Cayar on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, by small-scale farmers from across the Niayes region. Mbaye Ndoye, their spokesperson, denounced the situation, stating: "A decree has been issued requiring agribusinesses to withdraw from the market by February 15, 2026, making way for small-scale farmers and allowing them to sell their produce."

But, the small producers denounce, "today, we realized that these valiant Senegalese market gardeners, who are languishing in hardship due to a lack of cold storage facilities for their products, continue to suffer because all the measures taken by the government have been in vain, have not been implemented, nothing has been taken into account by the Minister of Trade, via the Director General of the Market Regulation Agency. They have not respected their commitments."

For this reason, these producers in the Niayes region are making a heartfelt plea, once again expressing their disappointment. They are appealing to the authorities, particularly President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, reminding them: "You promised us food sovereignty, which was supposed to come from us, the hardworking producers in the Niayes region, but today all our hope is shattered because the authorities have not kept their word."

They continued: “Our authorities have not honored the commitments they made to the Senegalese people. Today, quite frankly, throughout the Niayes region, we see enormous quantities of potato stocks languishing, for lack of buyers.” For all these reasons, the small-scale producers of the Niayes region have firmly decided to boycott the meeting convened by the Minister of Trade, via the ARM (Agricultural Marketing Board), this Thursday, February 26, 2026, in Dakar. This, they say, is a way to hold the director of the ARM accountable, because, they complained, “he’s the one they used to play dirty.”

These market gardeners directly accuse the Minister of Commerce, who, they say, "has not kept his promise, given his circular of Wednesday, February 25, 2026, extending until February 28 the order on the withdrawal of agribusinesses from the market, whereas the initial deadline was set for the 15th of the same month." They denounce this measure all the more because, they point out, these agribusinesses "have already flooded the market with a product of questionable quality, the 'kathiara'."

“Today, not only have we produced at a loss, but we are facing another dilemma with microfinance (financial institutions) regarding the repayment of loans taken out, because we are unable to sell our products. We are threatened because the State is not helping us to organize ourselves against these agribusinesses. We are frankly disappointed,” complain the small producers in the Niayes area.

They are making a heartfelt plea to the authorities, telling them: "You are not concerned about our situation, but we will fight this battle to the end, until the Indians stop their production to allow us to enter the market."