The Dakar government has decided to "exempt customs duty and all taxes on all new (agricultural) investments" under a great leap forward launched by the country's president in April, spokesman Abdou Aziz Sow told national television.

President Abdoulaye Wade's incentive-based plan is designed to boost production of staples such as rice -- Senegal recently flagged-up an import deal with India to cover the next six years, while developing its own harvests.

Other crops such as wheat, cassava or corn will also benefit from the scheme.

Sow said that investors had been banging on the government's door since the strategic plan was unveiled on April 18.

"Often, they go where there are fiscal advantages," he explained.

These latest measures come on top of the suspension of duties for rice importers, a crackdown on profiteering among sellers with special inspectors issuing fines and subsidies for a number of core essentials covering food to cooking oil.

Senegal is particularly at risk from the global food crisis as it imports the majority of its needs. The World Bank estimates that in the last three years, global food prices have practically doubled.


From afp