Assessment of the food and agriculture sector of Mauritania

Discussed in turn are the characteristics of Mauritania"s general and rural economy (including demographic and macroeconomic characteristics, food and income gap, and food consumption and income sources); rural settlement patterns and the agricultural and social effects of the Sahelian drought; the economy"s dependence on foreign assistance and recent development efforts in irrigation, farming research and extension, environmental protection, livestock improvement, integrated rural development, and inland fisheries/fish farming; the key constraints to agricultural self-reliance and the possibilities for alleviating them; economic and social issues (land tenure, labor relations, and the roles of farmers/herders and women); manpower limitations and administrative constraints; and the effects of grain price policies on output. The real question for the future, it is noted in conclusion, is whether the rhetoric of the latest government development plan, which calls for a long-term strategy aimed at greater economic independence, will be matched with political commitment. Appendices include an 11-page bibliography (1974-82).