**6. Conclusions and Recommendations**

The findings of this study reveal that the agricultural land has not yet been subjected to real human pressure. From 2009–2018, urban and built-up occupies only 177.5 km2 of the total area (34,964.36 km2) and increases at 2.80%, with a dynamic attitude of 0.28. This situation is because the fact that it is an under-populated area with little urbanization. The density represented 184.10 people per km2. Therefore, basic needs such as housing, infrastructure, and services are poorly developed in the area. Analysis of the regional difference shows that the Thiès region alone occupies 54.61 km2. Today, this region is considered an integral part of the Dakar region (25% of the country's population), which is the most urbanized in the country [83]. The most visible case in the study is the extension of cropland on the grassland. It represents 14,569.53 km<sup>2</sup> in 2009 and 16,687.16 km2 in 2018, including an increase of 2117.63 km<sup>2</sup> (14.53%). The region of Kaffrine alone recorded an increase of 1337.95 km<sup>2</sup> (22.80%) and followed by Diourbel (19.50%). The justifying factors can be related to agricultural investments and climatic performances such as rainfall or fertilizer. The use of fertilizer is increase reaching about 18,511,000 kg over the period. For the transition of areas is relatively intense, and the results reflected that 2083.29 km<sup>2</sup> of the grassland was transformed into cropland; 5.36 km2 of the grassland was transformed into urban and built up. In general, the agricultural land in the study area has not yet undergone a major transition.

According to these findings, recommendations are necessary to ensure efficient and balanced management of agricultural land in the future. First, agricultural land use planning is essential. Given the increasing urbanization and large-scale agriculture, the establishment of an agricultural nature protection zone is necessary, to develop and seek consensus on rules guiding the sustainable utilization of agricultural resources. Second, the agricultural land is disappearing faster than population growth. It is therefore imperative to move towards zero lands "artificialization". That is to say that we must resort to the restoration of degraded land to compensate for the land newly occupied by urban and built up. Third, land tenure management. Secure land and property rights are critical for reducing poverty and for enhancing economic development, gender equality, social stability, and sustainable resource use. We propose a restructuring of the basics of law No. 64–46 of 17 June 1964 to facilitate access to and proper management of agricultural land.

Thus, the restructuring of this law will strive to put in the place a legal system that will facilitate access to and management of land in general and agricultural land in particular. However, it is relevant to integrate all stakeholders in the reform process, strengthen the existing land access procedure, and to further include land issues in the decentralization and agricultural development policy laws. In addition, access and control over land are problematic in Senegal, especially under customary rule [84]. Therefore, a more equitable redistribution of access to land, especially to those who can invest in agricultural development, might be an important point in restructuring this law.

Furthermore, land issues are becoming increasingly complex due to economic development and population growth. Thus, the lack of coordination between socio-economic development laws can be seen as a blocking factor in the reform. Similarly, customary laws on land rights are increasingly challenged in the context of globalization. However, the lack of a clear delineation between the state and private domain may be a limiting factor in the reconstruction of this law. Therefore, it is necessary to formulate rural (such

urban) spatial planning promotes; promote the implementation of comprehensive land consolidation projects throughout the region; and optimizes agricultural, ecological, and construction space [85].

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, B.F. and G.D.; methodology, B.F.; validation, G.D., and B.F.; formal analysis, G.D; resources, B.F.; data curation, B.F.; writing—original draft preparation, B.F.; writing—review and editing, G.D.; visualization, B.F.; supervision, G.D.; project administration, G.D.; acquisition of funding, G.D. Both authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant Number 41571167.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

**Data Availability Statement:** The data presented in this study are available online. Kindly check the Table 1.

**Acknowledgments:** We would like to express our gratitude to the professionals of the Northeast Agricultural University who encouraged us to make this project a success.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
