Changes in the rural environment: Climate

A “wet” period from the 1950s to the early 1970s was followed by a dry period characterised by the two great droughts of 1973 and 1984. Between these two periods, the reduction in rainfall was remarkable [1].

It was considerable in the coastal areas (minus 150 mm/year), but rainfall there remains high (between 2,000 and 3,000 mm/year). In the Sahel region, the reduction in rainfall was not as strong (minus 60 to 90 mm/year), but was felt more acutely. This vision of course has certain limits, due to the fixed comparative periods. For the Sahelian countries, for example, the dry periods lasted from the early 1970s until the early 1990s. Since then, rainfall has increased, although it remains highly variable [2]. The reduction in rainfall results in desertification, the descent of herds towards the south and a drop in river levels [3] and in biomass production [4] . The impact of climate change can also contribute to these changes.

Despite being difficult to assess, the decrease in potential production of dry cereals or fodder for livestock is clear. The great Sahel droughts affected fodder production and consequently the animal population. During the 1982/84 period, the cattle population dropped by almost 60% in Niger, because herds were either decimated or moved southward.

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