Editing Economy of Niger (section)

====Agriculture====
{{Main|Agriculture in Niger}}
[[File:Niger Safari.jpg|thumb|The fertile south of Niger near the [[Niger River]].]]
[[Image:Niger rice map and season.png|thumb|right|200px|Map and growing season for the Nigerien  [[Rice]] crop. Chart shows [[Normalized Difference Vegetation Index]] against Long Rains Dry Season (July – Feb), measuring normal years crop growth in the major Rice producing areas of Niger.<ref name="pecad.fas.usda.gov">[http://www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/cropexplorer/chartview.cfm?ftypeid=4&fattributeid=1&stypeid=4&sattributeid=15&cntryid=NG&startdate=2008%2D07%2D01%2000%3A00%3A00%2E0&d=37361&regionid=wafrica www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/cropexplorer/]{{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>]]
The agricultural economy is based largely upon internal markets, [[subsistence agriculture]], and the export of raw commodities: foodstuffs and cattle to neighbors. Foreign exchange earnings from livestock, although difficult to quantify, are considered the second source of export revenue behind mining and oil exports. 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.
<ref name=ussd2009>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5474.htm Background Notes for Niger: January 2009] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524232128/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5474.htm |date=2019-05-24 }} Bureau of African Affairs, United States State Department. Retrieved 26 February 2009. Portions of the "Economy" section are here used verbatim, as this document is in the public domain.</ref>

Niger's agricultural and livestock sectors are the mainstay of all but 18% of the population.<ref name=ussd2009 /> 14% 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.<ref name=ussd2009 /> The 15% of Niger's land that is arable is found mainly along its southern border with Nigeria.

[[File:Niger Farm sand tv 16aug05.jpg|thumb|Drought has turned farmland into useless soil. A farmer examines the soil in drought-stricken Niger during the 2005 famine.]]
In these areas, [[Pearl millet]], [[sorghum]], and [[cassava]] are the principal rain-fed subsistence crops. Irrigated rice for internal consumption is grown in parts of the [[Niger River]] valley in the west. While expensive, it has, since the devaluation of the CFA franc, sold for below the price of imported rice, encouraging additional production. [[Cowpea]]s and onions are grown for commercial export, as are small quantities of garlic, [[capsicum|peppers]], potatoes, and wheat. Oasis farming in small patches of the north of the country produces onions, [[Phoenix dactylifera|dates]], and some market vegetables for export.<ref name=ussd2009 />

But for the most part, rural residents engaged in crop tending are clustered in the south centre and south west of the nation, in those areas (the [[Sahel]]) which can expect to receive between {{convert|300|and|600|mm|0|abbr=on}} of rainfall annually. A small area in the southern tip of the nation, surrounding [[Gaya, Niger|Gaya]] can expect to receive {{convert|700|to|900|mm|0|abbr=on}} or rainfall. Northern areas which support crops, such as the southern portions of the [[Aïr Massif]] and the [[Kaouar oasis]], rely upon oases and a slight increase in rainfall due to mountain effects. Large portions of the northwest and far east of the nation, while within the Sahara desert, see just enough seasonal rainfall to support semi-nomadic animal husbandry. The populations of these areas, mostly [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]], [[Wodaabe]]&nbsp;– [[Fula people|Fula]], and [[Toubou]], travel south (a process called [[transhumance]]) to pasture and sell animals in the dry season, north into the Sahara in the brief rainy season.<ref name="Decalo1997">{{Cite book
|last=Decalo
|first=Samuel
|title=Historical Dictionary of the Niger (3rd ed.)
|publisher=Scarecrow Press|location=Boston & Folkestone
|year=1997
|isbn=0-8108-3136-8
}}</ref>

Rainfall varies and when it is insufficient, Niger has difficulty feeding its population and must rely on grain purchases and food aid to meet food requirements.<ref name=ussd2009 /> Rains, as in much of the Sahel, have been marked by annual variability. This has been especially true in the 20th century, with the [[Sahel drought|most severe drought on record]] beginning in the late 1960s and lasting, with one break, well into the 1980s. The long-term effect of this, especially to pastoralist populations, remains in the 21st century, with those communities which rely upon cattle, sheep, and camels husbandry losing entire herds more than once during this period. Recent rains remain variable. For instance, the rains in 2000 were not good, while those in 2001 were plentiful and well distributed.

Soils that have become degraded, for example by intensive cereal production, cover 50 per cent of Niger's land. Laterite soils have a high clay content, which means they have higher [[Cation Exchange Capacity]] and water-holding capacity than sandy soils. If laterite soils become degraded, a hard crust can form on the surface, which hinders water infiltration and the emergence of seedlings. It is possible to rehabilitate such soils, using a system called the [[Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands]].<ref name="auto1">[http://www.icrisat.org/impacts/impact-stories/Converting-degraded-soils-into-productive-land.pdf''Bio-reclamation&nbsp;– Converting degraded lateritic soils into productive land''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726233807/http://www.icrisat.org/impacts/impact-stories/Converting-degraded-soils-into-productive-land.pdf |date=2018-07-26 }}, ''Rural'' 21, March 2013.</ref>

This involves using indigenous water-harvesting methods (such as planting pits and trenches), applying animal and plant residues, and planting high-value fruit trees and indigenous vegetable crops that are tolerant of drought conditions. The [[International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics]] ([[ICRISAT]]) has employed this system to rehabilitate degraded laterite soils in Niger and increase [[smallholding|smallholder]] farmers' incomes. Trials have demonstrated that a {{convert|200|m2|0|abbr=on}} plot can yield an income of around US$100, which is what men traditionally earn from millet production per hectare (10000m<sup>2</sup>). As women are often given degraded soils, using this practice has helped to improve livelihoods for women in Niger.<ref name="auto1"/>

The [[Kandadji Dam]] on the Niger River, whose construction started in August 2008, is expected to improve agricultural production in the [[Tillaberi Department]] by providing water for the irrigation of 6,000 hectares initially and of 45,000 hectares by 2034.<ref>[http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Environmental-and-Social-Assessments/ADF-BD-IF-2008-51-EN-NIGER-KANDADJI-ECOSYSTEMS-REGENERATION-DETAILED-POPULATION-RESETTLEMENT-PLAN.PDF "Kandadji" Ecosystems Regeneration and Niger Valley Development Programme (KERNVDP), Detailed Population Resettlement Plan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010190439/https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Environmental-and-Social-Assessments/ADF-BD-IF-2008-51-EN-NIGER-KANDADJI-ECOSYSTEMS-REGENERATION-DETAILED-POPULATION-RESETTLEMENT-PLAN.PDF |date=2017-10-10 }}, Executive Summary, Republic of Niger, Prime Minister's Office, High Commission for Niger Valley / African Development Bank, February 2008, p. 3-4.</ref>