Main crops of Niger
Niger is a country with bad soil due to drought and the desert, but is self-sufficient on agricultural production. The main rain fed crops that Niger produces are pearl millet, sorghum, rice, maize and cassava ; but also grow cow peas and onions for commercial purposes. In addition, Niger produces a limited quantity of garlic, peppers, potatoes, and wheat. Peanuts are the main source of agricultural export revenue.
Millet Production
Pearl
millet is considered as the most used crop by people in Niger and
depends heavily on rain. According to FAO, Niger was listed as the world's top 10 producers of millet. However, the production of millet in
Niger has decline over the years by approximately 2,253,000 tons due to drastic drought throughout the years.
Millet is generally planted at the beginning of rain season in June and harvested in October. After harvest, the pearl millet's grains are grounded with a mallet and a mortar or ground by flour mill in order to prepare a pudding type of meal called "toou". In Niger, women are the ones who thresh the millet at the end of the season (Minor Cereals in Niger). |
Sorghum Production
Since 1976, USAID has invested a lot of funds in research projects for sorghum, through the Institut National de Recherches Agronomiques du Niger (INRAN). As pearl millet, sorghum is also sworn at the beginning of the rainy season (June) and harvested in in October.
The demand of sorghum was higher than supply , therefore, the farmers started to get into the hybrid seed production in 1999. With the three sorghum varieties in Niger, the production has increased and farmers can now feed themselves. In 2012, the sorghum production was about 979,000 kg/ha. In fact, Niger produces the largest volume of Sorghum in Africa (Minor Cereals in Niger). |
Maize & Rice Production
Maize and rice are cultivated in the areas where water is relatively more easily available, including the areas along the Niger River and in the southern regions with abundant rainfall. This is the case because maize and rice are water crops and are grown Maize is planted in May-June and harvested September-October. Rice is mainly grown in the West, parts of the Niger River for internal consumption. Between 1960-1964 Niger self-sufficient rice production was 63.7% and has been decreasing to 26.7% in 1980-1984 and peaked during 1989-1996 to 49.6% (FAO).
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People of Niger make Hausa Koko (a millet porridge), a famous dish prepared by many using fermented grains, with millet being the top ingredient. Koko is mixed with.....click the link to read more.
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