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 Recent
news stories have alerted the world about the severe food scarcity in the Sahel region of Africa, especially in Niger. The Sahel region of Africa is
the area between the Sahara Desert to the north and the more fertile zones
in the south. It stretches across the entire continent from the Atlantic
Ocean in the west to the Horn of Africa in the east. The nations in this
region include Burkina Faso, Chad, Ghana, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria
and Senegal. Most of the affected regions are extremely poor. Even in a
normal year, it is hard to grow a crop that can feed families adequately. In
the summer of 2004, there was a plague of locusts in the Sahelian region of
Western Africa. According to the World Food Programme, this was the worst
locust plague to hit the Sahel region in 15 years. Massive swarms of
billions of hungry locusts ate their way across much of West Africa. The
swarms destroyed thousands of acres of crops such as corn, millet, and
sorghum just before they were due to be harvested. The locusts ruined fields
and farms across a vast stretch of Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal. In
addition to the swarms of locusts that destroyed crops, some parts of the
Sahelian region, including Niger have experienced such an extensive drought
that there is the possibility of ongoing damaging effects for the next two
years.
 As a result, a serious food shortage is
affecting more than 3.6 million people in Niger alone. The locusts and the
drought virtually destroyed food production across the predominantly
agricultural country. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) estimates that as many
as 3,815 villages have lost 50 percent or more of their food production.
People are eating leaves and grass, selling personal items, removing their
children from school, and migrating to neighboring cities and countries to
find work or food.
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Food Crisis In Niger
Food Crisis In Niger
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