The first ever census of agriculture and livestock in Niger has revealed a previously underestimated wealth of resources. It turns out that Niger, one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s poorest countries, possesses the most livestock of any West African country.
The census revealed that Niger has 30 million heads of livestock – 30 percent more than previously estimated.
The survey, which took four years of work in the field,1 was carried out jointly by the government of Niger and the FAO, and was the UN agency’s first opportunity to try out its new statistics tool, the “World Census of Agriculture 2010.” According to the FAO, the tool enables “information gathering to be far more closely tailored to local characteristics.”
The census highlighted the country’s agricultural potential. Abdoulaye Baidou, Director-General of Niger’s national statistics bureau (Institut National des Statistiques du Niger) pointed out that there is “no” justification, consequently, for Niger’s reliance on dairy imports. Going one step further, he mentioned that Niger could “also become a meat exporter.” With prices for agricultural raw materials on the rise, the survey has revealed resources at just the right time.
Consequently, Niger’s government hopes to rethink its agricultural policy, particularly since the survey also highlighted the weak points of the country’s agricultural system: only three percent of irrigated land is in use and expansion is limited by a lack of land. These are all reasons why, as Ali Doulaye, director of the survey’s agricultural component, pointed out, “Niger needs to intensify its agriculture.”