Land control and strategies of food-insecure households

Access to and control over land varies according to the level of vulnerability of rural households. The least vulnerable have the best land in terms of surface area and fertility. The most vulnerable have limited access to farmland. They no longer control this vital productive capital because of their extreme vulnerability, which forces them to pledge, rent or sell it. The land situation therefore remains very difficult for the majority of households in Yan Dari in central southern Niger: 16% of households control 42% of the land. This small fringe of the population is taking advantage of the new methods of access to land created by the monetarisation of the economy to dispossess low-income groups of their farms. Agricultural production follows the logic of access to and control over land. Less vulnerable households account for more than 50% of overall production. They have large surpluses, especially of food crops, on which they speculate. In contrast, the most vulnerable households are chronically short of food and are tied to the cycle of debt imposed by the first category.