Mauritania has significant agricultural potential

The Islamic Republic of Mauritania currently offers an exceptionally favourable environment for investment, backed by recognised political stability, controlled inflation and sustained economic growth.

In this favourable environment, the Mauritanian Government, through the implementation of the Strategy for Accelerated Growth and Shared Prosperity (SCAPP), has launched a large-scale structural investment programme in priority sectors, with agriculture at the forefront.

This strategy seeks to achieve food self-sufficiency, ensure the sustainable use of natural resources, create lasting employment opportunities and position Mauritania as an active contributor to regional and global food security.

For this initiative, Mauritania has considerable natural assets, such as untapped arable land, reliable and mobilisable water resources (especially in the Senegal River basin), a favourable year-round climate with abundant sunshine, and a strategic geographical location between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, with direct access to European and West African markets.

In addition, the country benefits from more than 700 kilometres of Atlantic coastline, two deep-water ports in Nouakchott and Ndiago, an expanding cross-border road network and international air links.

These assets are reinforced by an attractive regulatory framework. Mauritania's Investment Code offers significant incentives to investors and specific administrative support for agro-industrial projects.

The economy is built on solid foundations: an open and liberalised system, a stable and convertible currency, the promotion of the private sector as a key driver of growth, and a competitive workforce. Together, these factors ensure the viability and profitability of large-scale agricultural projects.

At this point, as part of its agricultural development policy, the Mauritanian government is launching a new generation of structural projects aimed at modernising the sector and strengthening its contribution to food sovereignty, economic growth and job creation.

These projects follow an integrated approach that includes:

• The opening up of large areas for agricultural development;
• The introduction of modern precision irrigation technologies;
• Establishing value chain infrastructure (cold chains, packaging and storage centres);
• Developing agricultural processing units;
• Promoting public-private partnerships with a leading role for the private sector.

Among these initiatives is the Sokam Area Development and Improvement Project.

The Sokam area is located on both sides of the Sokam marigot, a major tributary of the Senegal River that stretches for 34 kilometres and is capable of irrigating some 14,000 hectares, of which 8,043 are now being put out to tender.

This area is located in the western basin of Lake Rkiz, 200 kilometres from Nouakchott, 100 kilometres from Rosso and about 150 kilometres from the port of Ndiago. It is distinguished by the nature of its soil, considered one of the most fertile in the world, which offers particularly favourable conditions for intensive and sustainable agricultural development.

In this context, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty and the National Rural Development Society (SONADER) are working on a call for project proposals for the development and enhancement of these 8,403 hectares in the Sokam Marigot of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.

The project is divided into six agricultural blocks. Water for the blocks will be supplied from the Sokam marigot via pumping stations built and managed by the State. These stations will supply 20,400 litres/second, sufficient to meet the simultaneous water needs (in volume and pressure) of the six blocks.

The State will guarantee the availability of water in exchange for a fee paid by the investor, calculated on the basis of the volume of water consumed, with prices based on incentives.

The projects selected in the call for proposals will benefit from the provisions of the Investment Code, in particular those relating to the development centre. The land will be allocated under an agricultural long-term lease.

As for the objective of the call for proposals, the Mauritanian government is publishing this call for proposals in order to select qualified economic operators specialising in agricultural production and/or agro-industrial processing, with proven expertise in international distribution and marketing networks.

Hamada Didi Sid' Ahmed, Director General of SONADER, referred to all this in an interview with Atalayar, during the Fruit Attraction event at the IFEMA trade fair in Madrid, detailing the great investment opportunities offered by Mauritania, especially in the agricultural sector.

Mr Hamada Didi Sid' Ahmed, what was your objective at this fair at IFEMA?

We, the National Society for Rural Development, are a Mauritanian state-owned company responsible for developing and promoting the agricultural sector in Mauritania. In this case, we attended the fair at IFEMA to promote Mauritanian production in terms of agricultural and agri-food products. We wanted to participate in this important event to raise awareness of Mauritania's potential and to enable our companies to take advantage of the existence and availability of other partnerships, so that they can get involved in new agricultural technologies and really take advantage of this important moment.

Do you think Spain and Europe should improve their trade conditions with Mauritania?

As you know, we believe that the Kingdom of Spain is a strategic partner for the Mauritanian Government, for the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. This is a historic relationship, an important relationship for both governments. That is why we are very interested in promoting meetings between Spanish and Mauritanian investors so that this important diplomatic and economic cooperation can become a reality.

We came here to invite our Spanish colleagues to get to know Mauritania better and to learn about Mauritania's potential, whether in the Spanish market or in the European market. We know the importance of the Spanish agricultural economy in the European market. So we believe that this could be an important avenue for us to become the vectors for our production in the European market.

We are also very interested in the exchange of experiences. We want to take advantage of the Spanish people's knowledge of agricultural crops. We know that Spain is one of the countries with the best technologies and that it can help us enormously in terms of technical assistance, exchanges and new technologies.

We know that the Spanish and Mauritanians are generally willing to work together, and that is a long story that we are now going to turn into an agricultural space. We want the Spanish to know that Mauritania has significant agricultural potential and a thriving political and economic environment that is stable enough to develop the economy and allow foreign operators to feel comfortable with their investments and also to export their profits. Today, Mauritania offers the world a relatively well-established country with an environment that is very conducive to business development, particularly agricultural business.

Are the conditions for investing in Mauritania favourable? Is there legal certainty? Would you encourage more Spanish partners?

We Mauritanians are living in very interesting times. We have His Excellency, the President of the Republic, who is making every effort to ensure that Mauritania is a welcoming country, particularly in economic terms. And so, the Government has put in place all the legal measures to allow foreign investors to grow in the Mauritanian economy. We have a sufficiently attractive investment code. We have a comprehensive legal framework that is very promotional for foreign investors.

And Mauritania is capitalising on its geographical position and its historical relationship with Europe, Africa and all other parts of the world, and is ready to contribute to the development of the global economy. His Excellency is doing everything possible and taking action to make Mauritania an attractive country for economic investors.

Can you in any way reassure those Spanish investors or institutions that may have some fears about the instability in the Sahel and its possible impact on Mauritania? Can you guarantee security and that business and investment can develop without problems?

Mauritania is one of the most stable countries in the world, thank God. And that stability is one of the main objectives set by His Excellency the President of the Republic. And despite the problems that exist in the Sahel, we can guarantee and assure all investors that Mauritania is a favourable country for investment and that they can enjoy complete security.

What did you like most about the fair here in Madrid? What would you highlight? Have you done good business here these past few days?

Madrid is known as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. And the Kingdom of Spain also has all its other qualities, which make Spain a welcoming country, a country where we, particularly we Mauritanians, feel at home.

And I think everyone agrees that this meeting in Madrid is one of the most important events in the world for the development of this fair. It is very important and interesting because we have had a meeting with a large number of producers, distributors and people who are interested in this world, in this fair. So it is a very important moment for us and we have had many very useful meetings.

And we want all participants to know that Mauritania has significant agricultural land potential and that it is a stable, safe country and really the agricultural destination to consider right now. I know that some countries in the world are unfortunately experiencing difficult agricultural situations today due to drought and other problems. And that many operators are now looking for places to export to in order to invest, and I invite them to come to Mauritania.

What would you say to those farmers who complain about products from African countries such as Morocco or Mauritania coming into the European Union? Is there room for everyone and should they collaborate with each other?

Of course, we know that the big problem of the future is going to be essentially a food problem. I believe that in this sense there is room for everyone. I believe that there is room for everyone. And that everyone can contribute what they can so that we can feed the world and feed the population properly. Mauritania, like other countries, has its potential that must be valued for its own development, but also to contribute to the world and participate in feeding our population.

What message would you send to the British? Visit Mauritania, get to know us, and from there we can build better relations...

I invite British investors in the agricultural sectors to know that Mauritania is ready to welcome them, that it has significant agricultural potential, and that there is a government that cares and hopes and is launching an agricultural revolution and protecting investors and their investments.

This is a special opportunity for Spaniards to experience the political and ancestral relationship we have with the Kingdom of Spain and to experience our geographical proximity. Mauritania should be an important destination for Spanish investors. We are sufficiently competitive with other parts of the world because of our proximity, and we hope to welcome a large number of Spanish investors.

And we need more and better communication. The media should report more on the good things happening in Mauritania.

Communication can provide essential information and share it. And we are counting on you, we are counting on the British media and the Mauritanian media to help us quickly share this information.

Not everyone is aware of each country's potential. And it is the role of the media to provide information where it is needed. A month ago, we launched an appeal for a project in Mauritania where the government has installed infrastructure for 8,000 hectares of agricultural land.

These 8,000 hectares are available to investors who want to contribute investments and develop production and the value chain in Mauritania. So this is an opportunity to invite Spanish investors to take an interest in this operation. We ask all interested parties to submit their reliable projects.

The State is prepared to make the land available to serious operators and to support them in their projects. This is therefore an opportunity for all those interested in agricultural investment in Mauritania. We, on behalf of the State, are here to support you