

Niger: Nassamu Malan, "This year is also looking bad"

Publisher Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)
Publication Date 6 March 2012
Cite as Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), Niger: Nassamu Malan, "This year is also looking bad", 6 March 2012, available at: [accessed 4 July 2015]




"Our village depends on livestock. We can't engage in farming because the water table is very deep in the Agadez Region. In some places it is 80-100m deep so it is impossible to dig a well.


"This year is also looking bad. Normally at this time of year, before the rains, there is still some pasture available, but this year it's gone already. If you take your animal to market these days no one wants to buy. A goat normally sells for about 20,000 CFA francs [US$40]; today it sells for 1,500. [$3]. Sheep used to cost 25,000 CFA francs [$49] now they cost 10,000 francs [$20]. The reason is because there is no pasture, so people don't want to buy an animal for which they have to pay feed.

"We heard that the government says it will vaccinate animals. We would like to see that in our village so that they don't die.

"When there are food shortages in the south we hear about projects to help them, but we don't see anything here.


"I think a cereal bank for millet would be a good idea now that we don't move so much, as well as extra food like cotton grains for the animals. A lot of the village stock was eaten in 2010 - two of our stores are completely empty now.

"People forget that when the rains fail that also affects us. The land in our region is becoming very poor. The animals need good pasture and when it doesn't rain they over-graze. I know lots of other people are struggling. We try to do our best."

Search Refworld