PhD Defence: Abdoul Fattah Tapsoba

Abdoul Fattah Tapsoba
CERDI, UCA
Fondation FARM

Examiners

Pascale Combes Motel, Professor, Université Clermont Auvergne
Catherine Laroche Dupraz, Professor, Institut Agro Rennes-Angers
Tristan Le Cotty, Researcher, CIRED, CIRAD
Pierre Jacquet, Professor, Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées
Astou Diao Camara, Director of BAME, ISRA, Sénégal
Matthieu Brun, directeur scientifique, Fondation FARM
Catherine Araujo Bonjean, chercheuse CNRS, Cerdi, UCA

Abstract

Faced with the dual challenge of ensuring global food security and responding to the climate emergency, this thesis examines the economic efficiency and environmental sustainability of public agricultural support. The first part focuses on analyzing the tools used to measure this support. It proposes a data consolidation framework to improve the monitoring and international comparability of support policies, while questioning their effectiveness and sustainability orientation. Consequently, Chapter 1 overcomes the fragmentation of international data by consolidating them into a "Global Observatory of Public Support," covering 93 countries representing over 90 % of the global value of agricultural production. Chapter 2 questions the effectiveness of public agricultural support in Sub-Saharan Africa. It assesses the relevance of the 10 % policy target set by the Maputo Declaration regarding public agricultural expenditure. The results highlight a non-linear relationship, indicating that the expenditure efficiency threshold for boosting agricultural value added actually lies around 14–15 %. Chapter 3 provides a global political economy analysis of public support, showing that despite climate change challenges, the majority of public agricultural support remains weakly aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The second part shifts scale to evaluate the impact of solar irrigation in the Niayes zone (Senegal). The carbon footprint assessment of 804 producers reveals that 85 % of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions stem from fertilization practices rather than energy. The analysis highlights structural inequalities, particularly regarding gender, with women emitting up to five times more GHG per kilogram of produce due to lower yields linked to restricted access to resources. The impact evaluation (PSM) shows that solar adoption reduces total emissions by 47 % to 57 %, primarily through the substitution of fossil fuels. Partial adoption (solar/fossil) proves ineffective in reducing emissions, advocating for policies that support a full technological transition. The thesis concludes by calling for a structural reorientation of agricultural policies, based on their efficiency and coherence with the SDGs. Meeting this challenge will require not only better measuring, understanding, and anticipating policy impacts, but also the political courage to translate them into effective reforms.

Keywords

Public support, Agriculture, Public expenditure, Maputo, Sustainability, Solar irrigation,GHG emissions, Sub-Saharan Africa, Senegal.

https://theses.fr/s363609