Physical factors in the Sahel are usually intense with the Sahel experiencing very hot prolonged periods of droughts on a regular basis. The Sahel experienced over 4 of these major droughts in the 20th century. 1914 to 1973 saw thousands of people die due to starvation, as the land became dehydrated and susceptible to desertification, whereby land turns to desert. This period provoked the realisation of the consequences that can come of this process.
The development of desertification causes the land to lose its fertility, in return lowering its ability to hold crops reducing its human carrying capacity. This also limits the amount of food and grazing land that is available for livestock. The effects of desertification are made ever worse by over cultivation, overgrazing and an increasing population.
The little precipitation that the Sahel does experience is usually severe, and as the arid land is usually impermeable there is a huge amount of run off flooding areas and causing crops to die. The heavy rain can also penetrate the soil breaking it up and form gullies as it washes away the little nutrients that are left in the soil.
The economic situation of the Sahel is poor, the countries within its boundaries have some of the lowest GNP per capita’s in the World. Irrigation, machinery, fertilisers and seeds cannot be afforded by farmers and the government can provide little if any financial support. Banks are also unwilling to loan money to farmers due to the risk of no repayment. Village moneylenders will however loan money to farmers but at extortionate rates that will further add to the farmer’s poverty.
Another affect of the poor economic situation is the lack of education. Farmers are not educated on how to modify their land to maximise production and achieve high yields. They are not advised on how to break the cycle of poverty that so many find themselves in.
Aid is available from countries outside of Africa but this can be abused and have a negative effect. The aid is rarely distributed fairly and barely reaches the remote locations that need it the most. Aid is also projected into pointless schemes that can in turn have a worse affect. Financial aid can also make a country become overwhelmed with debt further worsening their situation.
Technological advancements in an LEDC could help to broaden the limits of production. Improved machinery, irrigation and advanced crop growth methods would alleviate some of the strain that farmers face, unfortunately due to a lack of capital the Sahel can rarely take advantage of this, and with MEDC’s advancing rapidly in this field the gap between LEDC’s and MEDC’s ever widens.
Countries in the Sahel have never had great political stability, whether it’s because of civil wars or the huge amount of debt they accumulate. This has been acknowledged as a major factor in the Sahel’s food deficit. For instance, British farmers can find financial and moral support from the EC if anything should go wrong.
There are so many factors affecting the food shortage in the Sahel that it would take a great deal of time and effort to break the cycle and lessen the troubles that these people face every day. After all it is not just the physical conditions of the Sahel that cause the deficit, technology is available to help these people but their countries just can’t afford it. If the Sahel is going to solve its many problems I think it will take a lot of investment, mostly in the form of aid, but this time it should be used effectively.
Lee Evans 13MS
