Niger Agricultural Production And Trade: Situation And Prospects

Agriculture has always played a fundamental role in the developing process of both the human civilization and the economic activity. It is not just a sector of cultural and sociological importance, but also one of the decisive factors behind a country's overall economic performance and the welfare of its rural community. The agricultural sector is the main provider of crucial and basic human needs and it is thus of greatest importance that the sector is well functioning.This thesis examines the aspects of Niger agricultural production and trade. Agriculture is important in Niger's economy as it generates 40 percent of GDP and employs more than 80 percent of Niger labor force. Niger depends on agriculture for both output and employment. Niger agriculture is highly dependant on rainfalls and this is behind the annual fluctuation of crop output.Niger farmers cultivate mainly cereal crops such as millet and sorghum which accounts about 80 percent of the total output. Second to crop production, livestock production is also major occupation of rural people. The herders raise mainly cattle, goats, sheep and camels. Livestock production is important in Niger economy and generates 13 percent of GDP and 30 percent of agricultural GDP.Beyond supplying food for the population, agriculture sector also is a source of foreign exchange earnings. Niger trade is highly dependent on uranium and on agricultural product exports, which are very much influenced by climatic conditions and rainfall regimes. Niger agricultural exports generate 24.59 percent of total Niger exports (second to uranium). Agro-exports experienced only an increase of 0.76 in 1996-2006. This insignificant increase is due the fact that crop exports declined about 2.76 percent of its volume between the same period.The high population growth and low productivity have caused a high food import to meet the population food demand. This makes Niger ago-imports to increase about 141 percent of its volume in 1996-2006. The main products imported are edible oils, cereals, milk, sugar, prepared food, etc.Niger live animals, onion and cowpea have show a strong competitiveness in international market using revealed comparative advantage index while other crops such as pepper, dates, green beans, and groundnut have shown a marginal competitiveness.Prosperity in Niger agricultural production and trade will only come from a policy that will encourage investment in irrigation and animal husbandry to boost production and exports in agriculture.