In Niger, the increase in attacks by jihadist groups in the north is hitting the agricultural sector hard. While the sowing season is in full swing, farmers are finding it increasingly difficult to access their fields, pastoralists are stranded in the south and thus miss the transition period.
In the middle of the winter season, farmers who sow beans, peanuts and millet are already worried about future yields. Since frequent attacks by armed groups emptied the cultivation areas.
Djibo Bagna, farmer, breeder and chairman of Farmer Platform: “Farmers can no longer grow in production basins. I’m very worried because I can not see a better tomorrow. The consequences are very dramatic. ”
Farmers stuck Gardening is therefore affected as a second important sector in Niger, where 80% of the working population lives on the land: breeding. As the jihadist presence along the border with Mali disrupts transhumanism, the migration of cattle should take place at the moment.
Boureima Dodo, chairman of Aren, the association for the revival of livestock farming in Niger, sums up the situation: “Really today, the breeder is in the worst situation because he can not go back to the north. And can not go down to the south. The northern space is occupied by armed groups and in the south it is the agricultural period. ”
The agricultural sector is therefore waiting to know the yield. While border closures with Burkina Faso and Benin have already led to an increase in prices, especially for maize.
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