The peanut — pillar of the colonial economy

Début 20th century · Kaolack

From the mid-19th century, France encouraged Senegalese farmers to grow groundnuts to supply its oil mills in Europe. Production soared in the early 20th century, transforming the countryside. The Kaolack, Diourbel and Thiès region became the groundnut basin — the economic engine of the colonial country.

Sources

• IRD — histoire de l'arachide dans le Mbayar, Sénégal
• Persée — « Pénétrer l’indigène » : arachides, paysans, agronomes et administrateurs coloniaux au Sénégal (1897-1950)
• Cairn — « Les sols sénégalais malades de l’arachide, 1944-1952 » (Revue Mondes, 2013)
• J. Copans, Les Marabouts de l’arachide (Google Books)

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