Agriculture in Niger
Agriculture is the primary economic activity of a majority of Niger's 17 million citizens.
The agricultural economy is based largely upon internal markets, subsistence agriculture, and the export of raw commodities: food stuffs and cattle to neighbors.
Overall economy
Niger's economy is based largely on
Geography
A majority of Niger's population rural residents engaged in crop tending are clustered in the south centre and south west of the nation, in those areas (the
Agriculture production
Niger's agricultural and livestock sectors are the mainstay of all but 18% of the population.[2] Fourteen percent of Niger's GDP is generated by livestock production (camels, goats, sheep and cattle), said to support 29% of the population. Thus 53% of the population is actively involved in crop production.[2] The 15% of Niger's land that is arable is found mainly along its southern border with Nigeria.[6]
Pearl millet, sorghum, and cassava are Niger's principal rain-fed subsistence crops. Irrigated rice for internal consumption, while expensive, has, since the devaluation of the CFA franc, sold for below the price of imported rice, encouraging additional production. Cowpeas and onions are grown for commercial export, as are small quantities of garlic, peppers, potatoes, and wheat.[2]
Drought and environmental degradation
Rainfall varies and when insufficient, Niger has difficulty feeding its population and must rely on grain purchases and food aid to meet food requirements.
Food shortfalls have also been caused by other factors. Market prices driven up by
Shortage of good farmland has led to a number of innovations to farm marginal, often
Market effects
While Nigerien farmers are often dependent on the agricultural market for portions of their production and consumption, much of Nigerien farming is subsistence agriculture outside the marketplace.[5] The 2006 Human Development Index ranked Niger sixth from worst in the world, with a HDI of 0.370: 174 of 179 nations.[8] Groundnuts, and to a lesser degree Cotton, introduced by former colonial power France in the 1930s and 1950s respectively, account for most of the world market for Nigerien industrial agriculture. Prior to the mass exploitation of uranium in the early 1970s, groundnut oil was the largest Nigerien export by worth.[5]
External trade and investment in agriculture
Of Niger's exports, foreign exchange earnings from livestock, although difficult to quantify, are second only to those from uranium. Actual exports far exceed official statistics, which often fail to detect large herds of animals informally crossing into Nigeria. Some hides and skins are exported and some are transformed into handicrafts.[2] Hausa areas in the south center of the nation are especially known for their leather industries. Zinder and Maradi are two foci of leatherwork and trade.[5]
See also
- Economy of Niger
- Sahel drought
- 2005–06 Niger food crisis
References
- ^ a b [1][dead link]
- ^ a b c d e f g Background Notes for Niger: January 2009 Bureau of African Affairs, United States State Department. Retrieved 2009-02-26. Portions of the "Economy" section are here used verbatim, as this document is in the public domain.
- ^ C. Maldonado & J. Gasarian. SECTEUR INFORMEL: FONCTIONS MACRO-ECONOMIQUES ET POLITIQUES GOUVERNEMENTALES: LE CAS DU NIGER. Document de recherche S-INF-1-20. Département du développement des entreprises et des coopératives, Organisation internationale du Travail -- OIT (1998).
- ^ [2] Archived February 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ISBN 0-8108-3136-8.
- ^ "Niger Economy". www.historycentral.com. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
- ICRISAT). 25 June 2009.
- ^ "| Human Development Reports" (PDF). Hdr.undp.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-04-29. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
External links
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement au Niger: French government development office in Niger.
- United Kingdom Department of International Development:Niger.
- Canadian International Development Agency:Niger.
- World Trade Organization MEMBER INFORMATION: Niger.
- The World Bank, Niger overview and resources.
- West African Agricultural Market Observer/Observatoire du Marché Agricole (RESIMAO), a project of the West-African Market Information Network (WAMIS-NET), provides live market and commodity prices from fifty seven regional and local public agricultural markets across Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Niger, Mali, Senegal, Togo, and Nigeria. Sixty commodities are tracked weekly. The project is run by the Benin Ministry of Agriculture, and a number of European, African, and United Nations agencies.
- OECD / AEO 2007 Niger country study.