“Three-fourths of Niger is covered by the Sahara desert. The rainy season lasts only three months, with total rainfall of 150–600 mm per year. Maximum temperatures are high (450C in the shade in April–May). Livestock production is a major component of farming. A wide range of crops is grown in semiarid areas, including millet, sorghum, cowpeas, pigeon peas, groundnut, green grams, phaseolus beans, and chickpeas. Millet is the most important crop, occupying nearly half of the total harvested area in the country. Niger’s population is concentrated in the south. Since 1967, there have been several food crises (every three years on average), due mainly to unfavorable climatic conditions. Since the 1960s, the contribution of agriculture to GDP has declined from more than 70 percent, leveling out at about 40 percent in the 1980s.”
