Could generic improvement policies boost milk production in Senegal? A synthetic control mechanism

The study elaborates the potential synergies and tradeoffs between the policy objectives in the Senegalese agricultural sector. Here, we focus on genetic improvements. In our empirical analysis, we study the effects of the artificial insemination (AI) projects on dairy production in Senegal over the 2002-2018 period. Thus, we employ the Synthetic Control Method (SCM) for comparative case studies which allows comparison between the trajectories of post-intervention production of milk in Senegal with a combination of similar but untreated countries. We found evidence that the AI projects caused milk production to increase by 59,161 tons on average from 2008 to 2018, which might be positively correlated with food security (i.e. synergies). However, this may put significant pressure on water resources in Senegal. Thus, the negative externality of these projects (i.e. tradeoffs) on water resources should be considered to achieve a more efficient outcome.