Studies conducted in Senegal between 2000 and 2005 showed that markets for dairy products were geographically segregated and that the supply of dairy products in Dakar was increasingly diversified. This evolution was related to an increase in the import of dried milk, and to the development of an industrial make-up and of small/medium-sized enterprises and industries. The competition between dairy trading and processing companies revealed an increase in the demand and Dakar market’s economic challenge. The local dairy subsector, characterized by an increase in the number of small processing units, was mainly expanding in rural areas. But political decision makers in Dakar were not involved in the dynamics of this local subsector because small dairies were remote, being confined to secondary cities. National policies focused on covering Dakar consumers’ needs with imports at particularly low customs rates for processed dried milk, which was, moreover, subsidized in industrialized countries. State intervention in the local subsector, based on promoting intensification via artificial insemination, did not lead to the elimination of the many constraints (animal health, feed, water, quality control, milk collection…). It seems therefore necessary to develop new dairy policies that would consider the sector globally and promote a dialog between all parties involved in the two subsectors to reach political objectives, especially with regard to food safety and poverty eradication in rural areas.