Physical and human processes can be linked to explain the deficit of food production in the Sahel. Explain how these factors have caused low agricultural productivity in the Sahel.

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Physical and human processes can be linked to explain the deficit of food production in the Sahel. Explain how these factors have caused low agricultural productivity in the Sahel.

The Sahel is a large expanse of semi-arid land that travels from the West of Africa to the East. This area of land traverses across a collection of countries and stands as a boundary between the Sahara in the north and the more tropical areas in the south. Spanning approximately 4500miles across the breadth of Africa, it is constantly expanding by the process of desertification as it is subject to extreme physical and human factors.

Whilst the physical extremes of the Sahel may play a large part of its food deficit it is not the only culprit, it is a mixture of physical, economic, technological and political factors that lead to the high numbers of starvation in these arid areas.

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