ABSTRACT
Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking near the bottom of the thirty-seven least-developed economies. Since independence Niger's leaders have shifted the focus of the nation's economic efforts somewhat, but they have found that there are few self-determined options. Niger's international airport has been upgraded, but internal air service, always unpredictable, collapsed in 1985 when the government withdrew its support of Air Niger as part of an austerity program. Rain-fed agriculture, small-herder livestock production, and mining dominate the Nigerien economy. Despite the fact that the Societe Nigerienne de Cimenterie, a mixed enterprise, produced 30,000 tons of cement from Nigerien calcium at its peak, it never satisfied more than a fraction of the Nigerien demand of over 200,000 tons. From the mid-1960s on, the government of Niger also hoped to create a major agro-industry that would process locally grown cereal grains into flour and prepared products.
