Agricultural and Pastoral Spaces in the Zinder Region

A continental and Sahelian country in West Africa, Niger covers an area of 1,267,000 km2 with an estimated population of 1,150,350 (BCR, 2005). Its economy is essentially based on agriculture and livestock production, which are practiced mainly in rural areas. These activities are subject to the vagaries of a climate (Sahelian) that is characterized by irregular and unevenly distributed rainfall in time and space. According to the climatic subdivision, these activities are distributed from north to south as follows: the northern desert zone, where crop production under irrigation dominates around the oases; the northern Sahelian zone, where nomadic and transhumant livestock farming is practiced; and finally the southern Sahelian zone, where agro-pastoralism is often itinerant. The southern agropastoral zone concentrates more than 2/3 of the rural population of Niger. "Agropastoralism represents the main economic activity and rainfed crops provide more than 90% of the country's cereal production," according to Grouzis et al. In recent decades, this area has undergone profound changes.