Impacts of national agricultural trade policies on food self-sufficiency: Case of selected products in Niger

Abstract

Most of Sub-Saharan African agricultural studies are focused on rainfall variability, low use of technologies and inputs in agriculture to explain the recurrence of food insecurity and famine in these regions. However, agriculture sector relies on other sectors such as trade. So, an evaluation of the efficiency of trade tools on main foodstuffs could very helpful for policymaker in stabilizing their countries agricultural product prices. Additionally, the evaluation of self-sufficiency and import dependency is a significant step in estimating the country resources capacity in satisfying its domestic demand especially for main foodstuffs. Hence, this article aims at evaluating the impacts of National Agricultural Trade Policies on Food Self-Sufficiency of main agricultural foodstuffs (cowpea, maize, millet, and sorghum) in Niger during 1990-2015. The findings revealed that Niger national resources can satisfy the countrywide demand for the main foodstuffs except for maize. In conclusion Niger policy makers should review the country agricultural trade policy by applying efficient trade’s tools and measures to stabilize the inter-annual price volatility of main agricultural foodstuffs.