More than half of Mauritania’s 4.8 million people earn a living from agriculture and livestock. However, domestic cereal production in this arid country only meets about one-third of the national food needs, forcing a reliance on imports, especially for sorghum, millet, and wheat.  Food prices soared in 2019 and continue to be volatile because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Although Mauritania’s agricultural sector rebounded with bumper crops in 2020 and 2022 because of a heavy rainy season, food security remains a concern throughout much of the country.

Opportunities

In December 2022, the GIRM signed an MOU between a U.S Company called African Agriculture Inc. for 30 million USD, the agreement aims to develop about 500,000 hectares (1,930 square miles) of land along the Senegal River Valley.  This agreement was signed on the margins of the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit at an event organized by the Investment Promotion Agency (APIM) and the US-Mauritania- Business Council under the theme “Mauritania: New Horizons for Investment.’’ To improve capacity building in the agriculture space, Michigan State University committed to establish an Agricultural Training center, which will offer courses to improve local agricultural expertise.