Chad’s agricultural sector provides the life blood of almost the entire population. Environmental conditions are harsh and arable land is limited to the south of the country. The rest of the country is devoted to livestock farming.
Although most farming is done on a subsistence level, the main foreign revenue earner is an agricultural product - cotton. It accounts for 90% of the country’s exports. The growth of cotton has resulted in secondary industries such as cotton-ginning and cotton textile manufacture. The crop has experienced a decline in the last four years with production falling from 261 000 tonnes in 1997 to 140 000 tonnes in 2000. The IMF has increased grants in line with this production decline.
Another major agricultural activity is cattle farming, with meat being an important export product. Nigeria accounts for most of the export demand.
A lack of effective infrastructure coupled with fluctuating environmental conditions means that the agricultural sector does not operate on an optimum level. There is an increasing need for investment and development in the sector as the needs of the population grow.
