Desert Environments of Republic of Chad - Combating Desertification in Asia, Africa and the Middle East - page 170

Crop rotation in the soudanian zone traditionally begins with sorghum or millet
in the first year. Mixed crops of sorghum and/or millet, with peanuts, legumes, or
tubers, are then cultivated for approximately 3 years. Farmers then return the land
to fallow for periods up to 15 years, turning to different fields for the next cycle.
Preparation of a field begins with cutting heavy brush and unwanted low trees or
branches that are then laid on the ground. Collectively owned lands are parceled
out during the dry season, and the fields are burned just before the onset of the
first rains, usually around March. Farmers work most intensively during the rains
between May and October, planting, weeding and protecting the crops from birds
and animals. Harvesting begins in September and October with the early varieties
of sorghum. The main harvest occurs in November and December. Farmers harvest
crops of rice and berebere , grown along receding water courses, as late as February.
The cropping cycle for most of the sahelian zone is similar, although the variety
of crops planted is more limited because of dryness. In the polders of Lake Chad,
farmers grow a wide range of crops; two harvests per year for corn, sorghum, and
legumes are possible from February or March to September. Rice ripens in February,
and wheat ripens in May.
Detailed and reliable statistical information on Chad's agriculture was scarce in
the late 1980s; most researchers viewed available statistics only as indicators of
general trends. The one region for which figures were kept was the soudanian zone
through survey coverage by officials of the National Office of Rural Development
(Office National de Developpement Rural-ONDR), who monitored cotton produc-
tion. These officials also gathered information on food production, but this effort
was not carried out systematically. Survey coverage of the sahelian zone was first
hampered, then prevented, by civil conflict from the mid 1970s to the early 1980s.
Moreover, figures from international and regional organizations often conflicted
or differed in formulation. For example, total area devoted to food production was
difficult to estimate because sources combined the area of fields in production with
those lying fallow to give a total for arable lands. The arable land figure has shown
a gradual increase since 1961. Estimated then at 2.9 million hectares (Mha), it rose
to almost 3.2 Mha in 1984. In 1983 there were about 1.2 Mha in food production
and in 1984 slightly more than 900,000 ha. Therefore, perhaps a third of Chad's
farmlands were in production in a given year, with the balance lying fallow.

7 Desertification in Chad: Causes and Consequences

Land degradation and dwindling water resources are caused by over-exploitation of
natural resources to satisfy daily food and energy requirements, as well as climate
change. Food production systems based on unsustainable practices and the removal
of wood for fuel are among the issues that must be addressed. A lack of arable land
due to desertification, coupled with limited access to water and healthcare, has had
devastating effects on malnutrition rates in the region. Food insecurity is a major
problem.