ABSTRACT
The Sahel is often characterized as a region in ecological decline. It has been drying out over millennia, and this process has accelerated recently because of the effects of human settlement. This chapter shows how much of the available land in Maradi Department now, even in parts of the northern Sahelian zone, is planted in crops. In a region where precipitation variability makes crop agriculture too risky to be the sole guarantor of household food sufficiency the current rate of extensification is worrisome. By observing the relationship between growing populations and transformed agricultural systems, we can identify some of the general means by which farm productivity has been raised to meet the increased demand for food. Compared with much of the rest of Niger, Maradi Department is relatively well endowed with workable soil suitable for agriculture. The erosion of bush land has occurred in both the eastern and western parts of Mayahi arrondissement.
