niger periodic famine
TRANSCRIPT
Periodic Famine
Famine may be seen as "the regional failure offood production or distribution systems, leading tosharply increased mortality due to starvation andassociated disease.
Geography of Niger
Niger may be divided into three zones, thenorthern, central, and southern. The northernzone, covering.
More than half of the total area of the republic,lies within the Sahara.
The central zone, known as the Sahel, is semiaridand lightly wooded.
The southern zone is a fertile, forested area thatbenefits from adequate rainfall and, in thesouthwest, from the periodic overflow of the NigerRiver, virtually the only river in the country.
Types of Vegetation in Niger
In the north is found the Sahara desert
As you move south you reach scrub savanna
Types of Vegetation in Niger
In the south of Niger is found wooded savanna
The river Niger flows through the east
Types of Vegetation in Niger
Useful Information on Niger Farming
In a country of nearly 13.5 million people, only about 70,000 Nigeriens have jobs that pay wages or salaries.
About 90% of Nigeriens are subsistence farmers. They live on the crops and livestock they raise.
They sell or barter goods for items they can't produce. The
primary crops are millet, sorghum and cassava.
Livestock sold for millet or sorghum.
15% of Niger land is cultivated.
Useful Information on Niger Farming
Livestock raising is the principal agricultural activity. In
2002 the livestock population included 6.9 million goats,
4.5 million sheep, and 2.3 million cattle.
Cowpeas and cotton are cultivated for export.
Millet and sorghum, cassava, pulses, and rice are grown
for local consumption.
Fishing is conducted in Lake Chad and the Niger River,
and the catch is consumed locally.
Distribution of Farming in Niger
This system is located in the arid and semiarid zones
Includes cattle, as well as sheep, goats and camels.
During the driest period of the year, Sahelian pastoralists move south and they return north during the rainy season.
The main source of vulnerability is the great climatic variability and consequently high incidence of drought.
Socio-economic differentiation is considerable - many herders have lost most of their animals due to droughts or stock theft.
Types of Farming in Niger
(Nomadic Herding)
Nomadic Herding Nomadic Herding
Types of Farming in Niger
(Nomadic Herding)
Crops and livestock are of similar importance.
Rainfed sorghum and pearl millet are the main sources of food and are rarely marketed, whereas sesame and pulses are sometimes sold.
Land preparation is by oxen or camel, while hoe cultivation is common along riverbanks.
Livestock are kept for subsistence (milk & milk products), offspring, transportation (camels, donkeys), land preparation (oxen, camels), sale or exchange, savings, bridewealth and insurance against crop failure.
The population generally lives permanently in villages.
Types of farming in Niger
(Agro – Pastoral)
Agro - Pastoral Agro - Pastoral
Types of farming in Niger
(Agro – Pastoral)
Location of the Famine
Affects of the Famine
June 2005 2.4 million experience severe food shortages
June 2005 150,000 children under age of five are
severely malnourished in 4000 villages
14% of the population of southern Niger departments of
Zinder and Maradi are suffering from acute
malnourishment
Livestock are dying due to lack of fodder and water
August to October 2004 hardly any rain – 11% below average and a plague of locusts
October crops normally harvested but yields are below average
November Food prices increase
January 2005 people running out of food Maradi and Zinder
February UN starts food aid 400,000 people
July people migrating to Nigeria to flee hunger
July UN has received 10 million US$ and WFP are helping 1.2 million people
Causes of the Famine
Less rainfall & plague of locusts
High food prices in markets
Poverty 60% of people live on less than 1 US$ a day
Families are indebted
Government food reserves have been allowed to run down
Dept written of but cannot subsidies food as a consequence
lack of government intervention
Rainfall Patterns
Locusts
July 2005
Nearly half of the Niger government's budget comes from
aid – assistance from other countries
In December 2000, Niger qualified for enhanced debt relief
under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme
for Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC).
Niger's debt payments as a percentage of government
spending were slashed from nearly 44 per cent in 1999 to
10.9 per cent in 2003.
The rest of Nigers debt is cleared by the scheme.
Short Term Responses
Food Aid
Food Aid: Much has arrived but little has been distributed
Long Term Response
Irrigation
Dams
Wells
Green Revolution
Fertilizers
Crops
Solutions to Famine
Improvement of soil fertility (15,497 metric tons of mineralfertilizer applied, feasibility.
Development of irrigation (9,483 hectares placed underirrigation, 4,507 motor pumps and 244 manual pumpsinstalled, 955 agricultural boreholes drilled, 490 shallowwells built, 138 km of Californian systems and 10.4 km ofchannel profiled in the agricultural irrigation infrastructureinstalled.
Crop protection and locust control (16,478 liters and109,192 kg of insecticide power and 500 liters of birdcontrol chemicals).
Afforestation
In Ague, Niger, where replanting trees helped alleviate the
effects of a famine in 2005, boys operate a foot pump to draw
water for irrigation.
President Address Video
President Video: President Address
BBC News Articles
BBC News Link: There are five a six articles on the
famine BBC Articles
Video Links
Video Link BBC News Player
Video 1: UN warns.......
Video 2: How the world failed......
Video 3:Scenes from one area..........