DRAINAGE BASIN APPROACH
30% of the lands are severely or very severely
degraded in the Sahel, while 67% of the lands
are lightly to severely degraded. Humans are
responsible for 15 to 38% of the land
degradation in the Sahel. The FAO has determined the risk of desertification, an indicator
based on the degree of land vulnerability related
to current and future climatic and human
pressure. The risk changes according to climatic
variations, along with human agricultural, pastoral, and environmental practices. The risk of
desertification is as follows: 100% in Eritrea,
Mauritania, Senegal, and Somalia; 98% in Mali
and Chad; 87% in Burkina Faso and Niger; 78%
in Sudan; 77% in Kenya; and 63% in Ethiopia.
The Sahel region spans Africa from East to
West. Etymologically, the Sahel borders the
Sahara; however, Kenya (north), Somalia, Eritrea,
and Djibouti are generally associated with the
area since a large part of their territory is located
in dry zones. Uganda (north) will also be
included in this report. More than 140 million
people in the Sahel live on hyper-arid, arid,
semi-arid, and dry and sub-humid lands.
(For all indicators compiled by country, see chart in
Appendix)
about 1650 kg/hectare; it is the lowest in Niger,
Somalia, and Sudan, where it is between 400
and 500 kg/hectare. By way of comparison, production is at 7460 kg/hectare in France, seven
times higher than it is in the Sahel.
Sahelian countries count among those at the
lowest levels of classification on the Human Development Index, which is calculated according
to life expectancy, education level, and quality of
life.
The African continent has gone through seven
major periods of drought over the past four decades. The droughts of 1972-1974 and of 19811984 had a massive impact on the people of
Western Africa and the Horn of Africa, causing
deep social and economic disruptions. Periods
of drought and food crises have since followed.
Today, the countries in the Horn of Africa are
going through a severe food crisis affecting
more than 12 million people. From East to West,
the people in the Sahel practice mainly subsistence agriculture, including livestock-based
forms, which is dependent on rainfall. Climatic
variations, such as drought and floods, along
with the instability of the market price of basic
commodity foods, have had a direct impact on
the populations’ already-fragile revenue sources.
Their vulnerability is too pronounced for them to
be able to benefit from permanent food security.
33 to 75% of the territory in Sahelian countries
is agricultural land. On average, cereal production is 1108 kg/hectare. Climatic constraints,
soil degradation, and poverty (limiting famers’
ability to invest) lead to low agricultural yields.
Cereal production is highest in Ethiopia, at
Access to basic services such as water, health,
and education, differs significantly between urban and rural areas. The countries that are better
off regarding access to drinking water in rural
areas are Burkina Faso (72%), followed by Cameroon, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Uganda, Senegal,
and Sudan (prior to partition), with coverage rate
of 51% and 64%. For Chad, Niger, Mali, and
Mauritania, the figure is between 47% and 39%.
It is 26% in Ethiopia and 9% in Somalia. Access
to drinking water in urban environments is between 98% and 67% for all of the countries, except for Mauritania (52%).
All areas considered, access to sanitation is less
widespread than access to drinking water, with
coverage rates of less than 26% for Burkina, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Niger, Somalia, and
Chad. It is less than 56% and more than 26%
for Cameroon, Djibouti, Kenya, Mali, Uganda,
Senegal, and Sudan. This data does not reflect
the massive gaps that can exist between the rural areas within the same country, such as those
that can be found between agricultural and pastoral areas.
Access to health services remains a troubling
problem for the majority of Sahelian countries,
even though some progress has been observed,
notably regarding the reduction of birth and maternal deaths. There is a lack of quality infrastructure in rural areas. The prevalence of
water-borne diseases is significant, as it is for
malnutrition, malaria, and HIV (the most affected
countries being Uganda, Kenya, Cameroon, Djibouti, and Chad).
Major transboundary aquifer systems of West Africa
Source : ESRI, Global GIS, WHY MAP Réalisation : M. Niasse, C. Mbow (2006) © Club du Sahel et de l’Afrique de l’Ouest
Water is at the heart of the development
process
The African continent is characterised by very
large water systems that find their source in the
humid tropical regions and that bring a
considerable volume of water into the arid or
semiarid regions. These basins cover many
countries.
The result is a very strong
sub-regional interdependency, and population
densities whose concentration varies according
to water availability and the economic activity
that results from it. In the Sahelian countries
considered in this study, there are seven major
water basins spanning from East to West.
There are seven major water basins in the Sahel
running from East to West: the Senegal River,
the Niger River, the Upper Volta, Lake Chad,
the Nile, Lake Turkana, and the Jubba Shibeli
 The basins have a high proportion of land
located in arid and semiarid zones
 These basins are subject to significant
interannual climate variability in the parts found
in the Sahel
 The population dynamics are driven by
water availability and fertile soil
Pastoral spaces:
Agriculture and livestock farming are the main
activities throughout the Sahel.
Food-producing basins:
The Senegal River (Niayes, River Valley, peanut
basin); Niger River (the Upper Delta in Guinea,
the Inner Delta in Mali, the Coastal Delta in
Nigeria); Upper Volta; Ghana; Lake Chad (the
lake, the Southern Chad); The Nile (the Nile and
the White Nile in Sudan, the Blue Nile in Ethiopia, Sudd in South Sudan, north of Uganda).
Mainly located in humid zones, these are the
economic centers in the Sahel. They are a hub
of development, concentrating important agricultural activity, both modern and subsistence, and
industry. Population density is high and
continues to increase due to the influx of people
from underprivileged rural areas. This demographic pressure makes the processes of desertification and land degradation especially
important.
Agropastoral spaces:
Moderately populated, to the north of the
Senegal River basin; northern zone of the Upper
Volta basin in Burkina; the mid-central zones of
the Niger River basins in Mali, Niger, Chad, and
the Nile basin in Sudan; a small part of the
Jubba Shibeli basin in Somalia.
Aware of the potential compatibility between
agriculture and livestock farming, the people of
the Sahel are developing more and more
agropastoral systems, with a few farmlands and
herds of smaller size. No longer able to live
through nomadic pastoralism, a number of nomadic herders have started to adopt a more
sedentary lifestyle, notably in East Africa. This
trend has been having significant repercussions
for local nomadic populations, as the settlements are frequently located on transhumance
routes (in Sudan, for example), and in more
favorable areas attracting settlements (major
considerations: accelerating resource degradation, increasing pressure on the availability of
arable land, misunderstanding sustainable
agricultural practices). Food security in these
areas is precarious, being dependent on rainfall.
Low in population, situated in “transition” zones
between the agropastoral spaces and the desert
spaces in the north of the basins, in Mauritania,
Mali, Niger, Chad, Sudan; in the lowlands of
Ethiopia (south and mid-east), in Djibouti,
Somalia (and Somaliland), and Eritrea. The
basins of Jubba Shibeli and of Lake Turkana are
for a large part pastoral.
Livestock farming has undergone considerable
expansion in many areas of the Sahel, particularly in the East, which has contributed to the
deterioration of pastures. Due to the frequency
of draught, the farmers are faced with a scarcity
of natural resources that is growing in
acuteness. They are forced to seek out pastures
in agricultural areas, leading to conflict and
longer transhumances. Some see their way of
living called into question, and begin diversifying
their activities by migrating and settling in more
humid areas. Others develop activities complimentary to those of the farmers. Globally, the
pastoral populations are relatively marginalized
from the Sahelian States’ development policies.
Today, 12 million people in the Horn of Africa
are going through a food crisis. These are mainly
pastoral populations.
Desert spaces:
Sparsely populated, these are the northern areas
of the hydrological basins, to the exception of
that of the Upper Volta and of Lake Turkana.
Camel farming is practiced. Agriculture is
nonexistent, unless it is in small, little-developed
oasis systems, such as the gardens of the
drainage basins in Djibouti, or north of Ethiopia.
Certain spaces are traversed by important
traditional commercial routes for livestock, as is
the case in Sudan, for example.
Major demographic trends
The demographic growth rate in the Sahel is
high. If a strong trend in urbanization is to be
expected, the proportion of rural populations will
remain important over the coming decades. The
demand for commodity foods could represent
one of the levers for a transition from
subsistence agriculture towards agroecological
intensification.
Heavy overall degradation of agricultural lands
and pastures in the Sahel

Structural drought

Demographic pressure

Expansion
farming

Low development indicators

Subsistence strategies caused by vulnerability to climatic and economic shifts.
of
farmlands
and
livestock
Concrete progress made in the fight against
desertification

Traditional techniques of widespread CA
and ANR (Conservation Agriculture and
Assisted Natural Regeneration)

A significant improvement of cereal
production and an increase in market
gardening production in areas where
investments have been granted
Areas of revegetation driven by people of
the Sahel, with a return of the tree to the
heart of agroecological systems (in more
populated areas)
People in the Sahel remain extremely vulnerable
to food crisis

Facing climatic variability

Facing unstable market prices of basic
commodity foods
The development of ecosystem market production, when excessive, translates into a decrease
of the overall output of goods and services.
Smart agriculture, also known as evergreen
agriculture or agroecology, sustainably improves
farmland productivity and adaptability to the
climate and reduces, if not eliminates, greenhouse gas. It improves food security and helps
to carry out development goals. Many smart
production systems are already used by farmers
and producers all over the world and are
strongly encouraged by international organizations such as FAO (Food and Agriculture
Organization), UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), and UNEP (United Nations
Environment Programme).
The average productivity gains can reach 79%
when resorting to ecological approaches, according to a UN study.
Traditional
conservation
agriculture
(conservation techniques of storm water and
assisted natural regeneration).
Agroforestry (trees planted or preserved on
farmlands for, for example, their fertilizing role;
intercropping and small-scale livestock farming).
Combined systems to meet food and energy
needs (in areas heavily deforested for home energy).
Livestock farming ecology (an approach more
centered on livestock quality, focusing, for example, on transhumance routes).
The main actions initiated in the Sahel to make
its people less vulnerable

The
continuation
agriculture.

A transition towards a “smart agriculture”:
agroforestry, agropastoralism, livestock
farming ecology.

The development of greater compatibility
between agriculture and livestock production.

The quality/productivity approach to develop and improve agricultural and livestock
farming products in order to reinforce the
farmers’ role in the industry.

An
integrated
agricultural
systems
approach, with the development of sustainable energy.

Necessary social measures to support the
poorest farmers in initiating the transition
towards agroecological intensification

The creation of funding opportunities
connected to payment for environmental
services (carbon).
of
conservation
The Sahelian Populations
 A population in demographic transition: greater life expectancy, a reduction of birth mortality
rates...

A demographic boom with growth of more than 3% per year over decades

Marginalised groups: women (despite being significantly implicated in economic life), youth
(unemployment and job uncertainty), pastoral populations (with a traditional lifestyle, in remote
areas)
Migration and Population Zones
 A strong trend towards urbanization and rural population growth (a false idea of rural
depopulation)

Strategic migratory movements for economic reasons within the same country and within the
Sahel. Western Africa, notably, is historically an area of intermixing of peoples.

An influx of climate and conflict refugees towards more favorable and stable areas.
Economic Growth and Employment

A growth rate of about 5%, yet insufficient to reach the Millennium Development Goals (7%
is required)

Per capita gross income between $340 and $1670 among the least developed countries
(LDC). The highest incomes are in Sudan and Djibouti, but this does not reflect the regional
disparities within the countries.

An expanding domestic market, along with an evolution of nutritional needs towards products
that are more easily consumed (rice, vegetables...)

The informal sector is the main provider of jobs, with an important part in agriculture and the
majority in urban areas

Youth are particularly affected by unemployment (difficulty accessing land, instability).
Rural Population
Total Population
in %
(4)
***(4)
% Pop Living On Less
Than 2 $/Day
(Poverty) (5)
HDI Rank
Human Development Index 2011
(Out of 187 countries)
Kenya
39 802 015
78%
47%
143
Cameroon
19 521 645
42%
8%
150
Mauritania
3 290 630
59%
16%
159
Uganda
32 709 865
87%
25%
161
Senegal
12 534 228
57%
25%
155
Djibouti
864 202
12%
74%
165
Sudan
42 272 435
56%
47%
169
Ethiopia
82 824 732
83%
44%
174
Mali
13 010 209
67%
37%
175
Burkina Faso
15 756 927
80%
39%
181
Chad
11 206 152
73%
44%
183
Niger
15 290 102
83%
63%
186
Eritrea
5 073 279
79%
69%
177
Somalia
9 133 124
63%
81.2%**
Not Ranked
(1) Source: World Bank, 2008
(2) Source: World Bank, 2009
(3) Source: World Bank, recorded data between 2006 et 2010
(4) Source: UNAIDS 2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic (population between 15 et 49 years).
Higher prevalence in Central and Southern Africa.
(1) Source: World Bank, 2009 (percentage relating to children from enrollment age to primary school)
* In 2005, according to the World Bank
(5) Source: UNDP in 2002
** in 2008 (Source: UNDP)
(6) Source: World Bank, 2009. The cereal yield, measured in kilograms per hectare of harvested cropland, is comprised of wheat,
rice, corn, bran, rye, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, and mixed grains. By way of comparison, the cereal yield in France is 7460 kg /
ha.
(7) Source: World Bank, 2010. The forest area designates the lands with trees either present naturally or planted, whether these
lands be productive or not.
WATER AND SANITATION (1)
% Urban
% Rural
Pop
% Pop
Pop with
with
with AcAccess to Access
cess to
Drinking
to
SanitaWater
Drinking
tion
Water
HEALTH
Prevalence
Life Exof
pectancy Fertility
Malnuat Birth Rate (2)
trition
(Years)
(Weight
) (3)
EDUCATION (6)
Prevalence of
HIV (4)
Primary
School
Enrollment
Secondary
School
Enrollment
PostSecondary Enrollment
Adult
Literacy
Rate
Burkina
Faso
72%
95%
11%
53
5.8
26%
1%
78%
20%
3%
29%
Cameroon
51%
92%
47%
51
4.5
17%
5%
114%
41%
9%
71%
Djibouti
52%
98%
56%
57
3.8
30%
3%
54%
30%
3%
N/A
Eritrea
57%
74%
14%
60
4.5
N/A
1%
40%
32%
2%
67%
Ethiopia
26%
98%
12%
56
5.2
34.6%*
N/A
102%
34%
4%
30%
Kenya
52%
83%
31%
55
4.9
16%
6%
113%
59%
4%
87%
Mali
44%
81%
36%
49
6.5
28%
1%
95%
38%
6%
26%
Mauritania
47%
52%
26%
57
4.4
17%
1%
104%
24%
4%
57%
Niger
39%
96%
9%
52
7.1
40%
1%
62%
12%
1%
N/A
Uganda
64%
91%
48%
53
6.3
16%
7%
122%
27%
4%
73%
Senegal
52%
92%
51%
56
4.7
N/A
1%
84%
30%
8%
50%
Somalia
9%
67%
23%
50
6.4
33%
1%
33%
8%
N/A
N/A
Sudan
52%
64%
34%
58
4.1
32%
1%
74%
38%
N/A
70%
Chad
44%
67%
9%
49
6.1
N/A
3%
90%
24%
2%
34%
83%
87%
57%
63%
56%
73%
32 709 865
12 534 228
9 133 124
42 272 435
11 206 152
Uganda
Senegal
Somalia
Sudan
Chad
Mauritania
59%
67%
13 010 209
Mali
3 290 630
78%
39 802 015
Kenya
15 290 102
83%
Niger
79%
5 073 279
82 824 732
12%
864 202
Djibouti
Ethiopia
42%
19 521 645
Cameroon
Eritrea
80%
15 756 927
Rural Population in %
***(4)
Burkina
Faso
Total Population (4)
1 284 000
2 498 000
642 000
197 000
242 000
1 189 000
1 054 000
1 250 000
591 000
1 133 000
122 000
22 000
465 000
276 000
Total Area
in km²
38%
39%
66%
0%
0%
53%
78%
51%
11%
10%
42%
99%
0%
0%
Hyper-Arid
Land
(Deserts)
19%
11%
20%
0%
0%
15%
7%
11%
19%
19%
8%
1%
0%
0%
Arid
Land
23%
17%
14%
46%
0%
14%
14%
19%
31%
15%
50%
0%
2%
20%
SemiArid
Land
19%
19%
1%
54%
0%
1%
0%
18%
18%
23%
0%
0%
8%
66%
Dry SubHumid Land
Total
Drylands in
km²
70 760
220
46 500
0
61% 783 240
35% 224 700
1 174
47%
060
100% 197 000
0%
30% 356 700
21% 221 340
48% 600 000
68% 401 880
57% 645 810
58%
1%
10%
86% 237 360
(Without
Deserts)
Total
% Drylands
Drylands (1)
91%
73%
31%
89%
0%
97%
55%
84%
27%
28%
97%
0%
22%
91%
% Pop
Living
in Dry
Areas
(1)**
10 197 598
30 858 878
2 831 268
11 155 463
0
14 831 399
1 809 847
10 928 576
10 746 544
23 190 925
4 921 081
0
4 294 762
14 338 804
(Without Dry
Sub-Humid
Land)
Population
Living in
Dry Areas
Agricultural and Forest Land
Agricultur- Irrigated
al Land in Agricultur%
al Land in
(5)
%
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Djibouti
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Kenya
Mali
Mauritania
Niger
Uganda
Senegal
Somalia
Sudan
Chad
45%
19%
73%
75%
35%
48%
33%
39%
34%
66%
48%
70%
58%
39%
Economic
Growth Rate
(1)
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Djibouti
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Kenya
Mali
Mauritania
Niger
Uganda
Senegal
Somalia
Sudan
South Soudan
Chad
5.8%
3.0%
4.5%
2.2%
8.0%
4.0%
4.5%
4.7%
7.5%
5.2%
4.2%
2.6%
5.1%
N/A
5.1%
Cereal Yield
(in kg per
ha) (6)
Forest
Area (3) in
%
(7)
1 035
1 574
1 667
938
1 652
1 204
1 588
873
489
1 539
1 135
417
587
812
21%
42%
0%
15%
12%
6%
10%
0.2%
1%
15%
44%
11%
29%
9%
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
0.5%
0.1%
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
0.7%
N/A
1.3%
N/A
Gross Annual Income per
capita
in 2010
(2)
$550
$1180
$1270
$340
$390
$790
$600
$1030
$370
$500
$1090
$600
$1642
$984
$620
Unemployment Rate
in 2010 (1)
*
Pop
Youth
Rate (0 to
14 years)
in 2010
(2)
77%
30%
59%
N/A
20.5%
40%
30%
30%
N/A
N/A
48%
N/A
19%
N/A
N/A
45%
41%
36%
42%
41%
42%
47%
40%
49%
48%
44%
45%
40%
N/A
45%
Youth Unemployme
nt Rate in
2010
(less than
25 years)
(1)
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
25%
N/A
N/A
N/A
3%
N/A
15%
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Source (1) CIA World Factbook - Version January 2011. * The unemployment data don’t take into
account the significant role played by the informal economy in employment.
Source (2) World Bank
Crédits photo: Alexandre GELEBART/20 Minutes/SOS SAHEL ; Michel Maindru/SOS SAHEL.