Senegal has experienced a higher economic growth with reference to other neighbour countries over the coast of West Africa, since its independence from France in 1960. However, in 2010, the country registered 46.7 percent of its population as being under the poverty line. Moreover, the recent international financial crises, climate shocks and the slowdown in agricultural sector productivity have brought a nationwide downturn. Senegalese households face a range of exogenous shocks, from low rainfall and drought to food price volatility, each of which affects their food security and resilience capacity.

This report seeks to identify the main factors contributing to households’ resilience and food security by using the FAO Resilience Index Measurement and Analysis (RIMA) methodology. The first part of the report analyses household resilience capacity in 2010 at the national and regional levels, at the urban level and also at the level of the household head’s gender. The second part of the report portrays a dynamic analysis of resilience capacity and food security between 2005 and 2011; this indirect part of RIMA aims to see which pillars influenced changes in resilience and food security from 2005 to 2011.

The main findings have been analysed in terms of the key policies implemented or programmed by the Senegalese Government. This has been carried out in order to provide useful insights about how to relate resilience capacity and food security with practical policies.