Chad's remoteness, its inadequate infrastructure, its recent history
of war, drought, and famine, and its dependency on a single cash
crop--cotton--for export earnings made it one of the poorest nations of
the world. In the mid-1980s, Chad's gross national product per capita
was only US$160, which clearly reflected the extent of the nation's
impoverishment. In the mid-1980s, Chad ranked among the five poorest
nations of the world according to World Bank statistics.
Chad's economy was based almost entirely on agriculture and
pastoralism. In 1986 the World Bank estimated that approximately 83
percent of the country's economically active population worked in
agriculture, 5 percent worked in industry, and 12 percent were engaged
in services, including government employment, trade, and other service
activities. Cotton processing, which includes ginning raw cotton into
fiber for export, some spinning and weaving, and producting edible oil
from cotton seed for local consumption, dominated industry.
Figures for the gross domestic product (GDP) also reflected
agriculture's importance. In 1986 the World Bank estimated that 46.3
percent of Chad's GDP came from agriculture and pastoralism. Industry
and manufacturing accounted for only 17.9 percent of GDP, while services
represented 35.7 percent of GDP.
Geography and climate played an influential role in Chad's economy.
The country is divided into three major climatic zones-- Saharan, sahelian,
and soudanian--which are distinguished by the level of annual
average rainfall. There are only two productive zones--the soudanian
cotton-producing zone of the south, sometimes called Le Tchad Utile
(Useful Chad), and the central sahelian cattle-herding region.
The northern Saharan region produces little.
In 1987 Chad's economy was dependent on a single cash crop-- cotton.
Like most other single-crop economies in the Third World, when world
commodity prices were high, conditions improved. When those prices fell,
conditions worsened. Despite several important swings, during the 1970s
and particularly in the early 1980s, cotton prices were good. Chad's
cotton revenues peaked in 1983 and 1984, but in 1985 world cotton prices
fell steeply, nearly crippling the cotton industry. This decline forced
a major economic restructuring under the auspices of the World Bank and
foreign donors. To revive the cotton industry, a 1986 restructuring
program curtailed all cotton-derived revenues to the government until
world prices rebounded. This program forced cutbacks on the production
of raw cotton and limited the level of government support to producers
for improved cropping methods, ginning, and other related industrial
operations.
Cattle and beef exports followed cotton in economic importance.
Estimates of the value of these exports varied greatly because large
numbers of livestock left the country "on the hoof," totally
outside the control of customs officials. Nevertheless, cattle and beef
exports accounted for 30 to 60 percent of all exports from 1975 through
1985, depending on the value of the cotton crop in a given year.
Approximately 29 percent of Chadians depended almost entirely on
livestock for their livelihood in the early 1980s, and livestock and
their by-products represented around 26 percent of GNP.
Chad's lack of resources limited the exploitation of mineral
deposits. There were known deposits of bauxite in the southern regions,
and reports indicated deposits of uranium and some other minerals in the
Tibesti Mountains and Aozou Strip. Even in late 1987, however, no
bauxite was being mined, and because of hostilities in the northern
zones, claims of mineral deposits there had not been verified. Chad's
only mining industry was the traditional exploitation of sodium
carbonate (natron) in dried beds around Lake Chad.
Oil offered one of the few reasons for economic optimism. In 1974 a
consortium of companies led by Conoco discovered oil near Rig Rig, north
of Lake Chad. Plans to exploit these reserves, estimated at 438 million
barrels, and to build a small refinery to serve Chad's domestic needs
were delayed in the late 1970s and early 1980s because of The Chadian
Civil War. In 1986 the government--with World Bank support--revived the
idea, and plans called for operations to begin in the early 1990s.
Nonetheless, these deposits would ensure only Chad's domestic needs, and
no oil would be exported. In 1985 Exxon, which had become the leader of
the exploratory consortium, discovered oil in southern Chad, near Doba.
The size of the reserves was not known, although it was believed to be
large. Exxon, however, suspended drilling in 1986 when world oil prices
fell.
Remoteness and distance are prime features of economic life in Chad.
Transportation and communications are difficult, both internally and
externally. Douala, Cameroon, the nearest port from N'Djamena, is 1,700
kilometers away. By the mid-1980s, the only paved roads linking the
capital to the interior, some 250 kilometers of hardtop, had disappeared
because of insufficient maintenance. Of the estimated 31,000 kilometers
of dirt roads and tracks, only 1,260 kilometers were all-weather roads.
The remainder became impassable during the rainy season. There were no
railroads in Chad.
Since independence, Chad has relied on outside donors and regional
institutions for economic survival and development. Chad's principal
sponsor has been France, which has subsidized the budget. Through the
mechanisms of the Lom� Convention between the member of the European
Economics Community (EEC) and their farmer colonies in Africa, the
Caribbean, and the Pacific (ACP), France has also subsidized Chad's
cotton production and exports. French companies have dominated trade,
and French banks have controlled Chad's finances.
Information on Chadian government finances was fragmentary and
inconsistent. The political instability from 1976 to 1982 left large
sections of the country beyond any form of central control, and during
this period the state had very few finances. After 1982, however,
fragmentary estimates indicated a growing importance of donor finances
and a decline in internally generated revenues. In addition, during the
1980s military spending was high. Although the proportion of real
government expenditures for defense was difficult to assess, it could
have represented as much as 70 percent of government spending. Despite a
measure of political stability after 1982, the situation worsened in
1985 with the collapse of cotton revenues. In 1986 the World Bank and
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) joined in efforts by other donors,
including France, the EEC, and the United States, to stabilize Chad's
financial and budget difficulties.
Chad - ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
In 1986 approximately 83 percent of the active population were
farmers or herders. This sector of the economy accounted for almost half
of GDP. With the exception of cotton, some small-scale sugar production,
and a portion of the peanut crop, Chad's agriculture consisted of
subsistence food production. The types of crops that were grown and the
locations of herds were determined by considerable variations in Chad's
climate.
The soudanian zone comprises those areas with an average
annual rainfall of 800 millimeters or more. This region, which accounts
for about 10 percent of the total land area, contains the nation's most
fertile croplands. Settled agricultural communities growing a wide
variety of food crops are its main features. Fishing is important in the
rivers, and families raise goats, chickens, and, in some cases, oxen for
plowing. In 1983 about 72 percent of all land under cultivation in Chad
was in the soudanian region.
The central zone, the sahelian region, comprises the area
with average annual rainfall of between 350 and 800 millimeters. The
minimum rainfall needed for the hardiest of Chad's varieties of millet,
called berebere, is 350 millimeters. The western area of the
zone is dominated by the Chari and Logone rivers, which flow north from
their sources in southern Chad and neighboring countries. The courses of these rivers, joining at N'Djamena to flow on to
Lake Chad, create an ecological subregion. Fishing is important for the
peoples along the rivers and along the shores of Lake Chad. Flood
recession cropping is practiced along the edges of the riverbeds and
lakeshore, areas that have held the most promise for irrigation in the
zone. International donor attention focused on this potential beginning
in the mid-1960s. Particular attention has been paid to the traditional
construction of polders along the shores of Lake Chad. Land reclaimed by the use
of such methods is extremely fertile. Chad's only wheat crop is
cultivated in these polders.
In the rest of the sahelian region, the hardier varieties of
millet, along with peanuts and dry beans, are grown. Crop yields are far
lower than they are in the south or near rivers and lakes. Farmers take
every advantage of seasonal flooding to grow recession crops before the
waters dry away, a practice particularly popular around Lake Fitri. The sahelian
region is ideal for pasturage. Herding includes large cattle herds for
commercial sale, and goats, sheep, donkeys, and some horses are common
in all villages.
The Saharan zone encompasses roughly the northern one-third of Chad.
Except for some dates and legumes grown in the scattered oases, the area
is not productive. Annual rainfall averages less than 350 millimeters,
and the land is sparsely populated by nomadic tribes. Many of Chad's
camel herds are found in the region, but there are few cattle or horses.
Chad's subsistence farmers practice traditional slash-and-burn
agriculture in tandem with crop rotation, which is typical throughout
much of Africa. Sorghum is the most important food crop, followed by
millet and berebere. Less prevalent grains are corn, rice, and
wheat. Other secondary crops include peanuts, sesame, legumes, and
tubers, as well as a variety of garden vegetables.
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 three years. Farmers then return the land to fallow for
periods up to fifteen 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.
As with most Third World countries, control of the land determines
agricultural practices. There are three basic types of land tenure in
Chad. The first is collective ownership by villages of croplands in
their environs. In principle, such lands belong to a village
collectively under the management of the village chief or the
traditional chef des terres (chief of the lands). Individual
farmers hold inalienable and transmittable use rights to village lands,
so long as they, their heirs, or recognized representatives cultivate
the land. Outsiders can farm village lands only with the authorization
of the village chief or chef des terres. Renting village
farmlands is possible in some local areas but is not traditional
practice. Private ownership is the second type of tenure, applied
traditionally to the small plots cultivated in wadis or oases. Wells
belong to individuals or groups with rights to the land. Ownership of
fruit trees and date palms in the oases is often separate from ownership
of the land; those farmers who plant and care for trees own them. State
ownership is the third type, primarily for large enterprises such as
irrigation projects. Under the management of parastatal or government
employees, farmers enter into contractual arrangements, including paying
fees, for the use of state lands and the benefits of improved farming
methods.
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 D�veloppement Rural--ONDR), who monitored cotton
production. 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 mid1970s 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, it rose to almost
3.2 million hectares in 1984. In 1983 there were about 1.2 million
hectares in food production and in 1984 slightly more than 900,000
hectares. Therefore, perhaps a third of Chad's farmlands were in
production in a given year, with the balance lying fallow.
<>Cotton
Background of Cotton Cultivation
Cotton is an indigenous crop to southern Chad. In 1910 the French
colonial administration organized market production on a limited scale
under the direction of the military governor. By 1920 the colonial
administration was promoting the large-scale production of cotton for
export. The French saw cotton as the only exploitable resource for the
colony and as an effective means of introducing a cash economy into the
area. Indeed, the elaboration of colonial administration went hand in
hand with the extension of cotton production throughout the region.
France's motives were clear: it sought to ensure a source of raw
materials for its home industries and a protected market for its exports
abroad. France also intended that taxes derived from commercial ventures
within the colonies would offset the expenses of the colonial
administration. Therefore, customs duties on cotton exports from Chad,
then a part of French Equatorial Africa (Afrique Equatoriale Fran�aise--AEF),
were paid to the governor general at Brazzaville (in contemporary
Congo), as were duties on exports from other colonies under regional
administration. Revenues from a head tax were paid in cash locally and
went directly to the lieutenant governor of the colony. Not
surprisingly, virtually the only means of earning the money to pay the
tax was by the sale of cotton to the French.
In 1928 exploitation of cotton within the colony was placed in the
hands of Cotonfran, a private company. Under the terms of the contract
between the colonial administration and Cotonfran, the administration
maintained a certain quantity of production by the villages, and
Cotonfran bought at least 80 percent of that production. The cotton was
ginned locally, but no further transformation was permitted; all the
cotton fiber was then exported to France.
The colonial administration fixed the quantity of cotton produced and
the price paid to the peasant producer on the basis of calculations
furnished by Cotonfran of costs and expectations for the price of cotton
on the world market. France reorganized village administration by
replacing traditional chiefs with individuals more amenable to the
colonial power, which assured the proper cultivation of the cotton crop
and the collection of taxes. This system included forced labor and the
subordination of growing food crops to cotton.
Production Factors
In 1988 the entirety of Chad's cotton was produced in the five soudanian
prefectures of Mayo-Kebbi, Tandjil�, Logone Occidental, Logone
Oriental, and Moyen-Chari, plus the Bousso region of Chari-Baguirmi
Prefecture, which juts down into the soudanian zone. Few
regions outside these prefectures offered sufficient water and
population to sustain cotton production. Moreover, in this land of
difficult transport, areas producing a cash crop also needed to be able
to grow enough food for their people. Typically, the cultivation of
cotton and food crops was carried on side by side. Efforts to extend the
cultivation of cotton to the neighboring sahelian prefectures
of Salamat and Gu�ra have had little success. In 1983 and 1984, with
production at its highest in a decade, these two prefectures represented
only .005 percent of total production. Suggestions also have been made
from time to time to bring cotton production to the fertile borders of
Lake Chad. Trials have shown the high yields possible there, estimated
at 3,000 to 4,000 kilograms per hectare. As of 1987, however, farmers in
the Lake Chad area had not taken voluntarily to cotton production.
Traditionally, farmers have resisted government efforts to control local
production of such crops as wheat, and the history of coercion and
government intervention associated with cotton was no inducement.
The government has introduced methods to increase crop yield, which
include the expanded use of fertilizers and insecticides. Even so,
compared with crop yields of more than 1,000 kilograms per hectare for
other francophone West African states (such as Cameroon, Mali, and C�te
d'Ivoire), until 1982 Chad's crop yields did not significantly exceed
500 kilograms per hectare; from 1983 to 1987, yields averaged almost 750
kilograms per hectare.
Area under cotton cultivation reached a peak in 1963 of 338,900
hectares. From 1963 until the end of the 1970s, the area under cotton
cultivation averaged 275,000 hectares. In the 1980s, however, the area
has been consistently less than 200,000 hectares. By 1983 the area of
land under cotton cultivation had dropped by 36 percent from the average
during the 1960s and 1970s. Several sources estimated the area in
southern Chad under cotton cultivation at 30 to 40 percent of all land
in cultivation, and in some areas of Mayo-Kebbi Prefecture, it may have
been higher.
Cotton production has exhibited wide swings. Factors such as climatic
conditions, production prices, and civil strife have influenced
production. The first crop to exceed 100,000 tons came in 1963, but the
1970s were the best years for production, which from 1971 to 1978
remained well above 100,000 tons per year. Chad reached its all-time
record production in 1975. Production suffered from 1979 to 1982 because
of the Chadian Civil War and hit a twenty-year low in 1981. In 1983,
with the return of some political stability and higher market prices,
production improved but then fell from 1984 to 1987, a reflection of
declining world cotton prices.
Once the crop is harvested, the producers must sort the cotton to
separate lower quality yellow cotton from higher quality white cotton.
Since the late 1970s, the proportion of white cotton generally has been
90 percent or more of total production. Going back to the 1960s, the
quality of Chadian cotton had been consistently high, except for 1972
and 1973, when the proportion of yellow cotton rose to 18 percent. Since
1980 the quality has remained high at initial sorting, with white cotton
representing more than 95 percent of the crop and accounting for 98
percent of production in 1984.
Administrative Structure
In 1989 the official structure responsible for the production and
marketing of cotton was composed of the ONDR under the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development, of Cotontchad, and of the Cotton
Price Stabilization Board (Caisse de Stabilisation des Prix du
Coton--CSPC). Founded in 1965, the ONDR was originally given
responsibility to monitor, improve, and assist all agricultural
production. By the mid-1980s, however, the government's emphasis on
cotton production made the ONDR an important factor for the cotton
industry only. Cotontchad, successor to Cotonfran, was founded as a
parastatal company in 1971 to collect, buy, gin, transport, and export
the cotton crop. The company also had responsibility for elements of the
small national textile, soap, and edible oil industries. The CSPC's task
was to stabilize prices paid to peasant producers by funding operating
losses incurred by Cotontchad. Assuring a constant price to the producer
not only helped maintain a certain level of production for Cotontchad
but also limited costs to the company by holding down producer prices.
The ONDR, the CSPC, Cotontchad, and the government itself were involved
in determining producer prices. In addition, the CSPC supported the
program to improve yields. Between 1971 and 1983, an estimated 57
percent of all payments by the CSPC were made in conjunction with the
program to improve cotton production.
Other major actors in the cotton industry were the private banks, the
French Textile Development Company (Compagnie Fran�aise pour le D�veloppement
des Textiles--CFDT), and French and EC institutions, as well as the
World Bank. Private banks provided the credits necessary to Cotontchad
and to the peasants to finance the opening of each planting season and
especially to provide capital for the import and distribution of
fertilizers and insecticides. The CFDT marketed Chad's cotton on the
world market. The CFDT also contributed to the smooth operation of
Cotontchad through technical agreements to maintain equipment and to
provide expertise in improving cropping methods through the ONDR. In
addition, the CFDT supported research carried out by the Cotton and
Textile Research Institute (Institut de Recherche sur le Coton et les
Textiles-- IRCT), a small public research facility located near Doba.
Subsidies to Chad's cotton production under the Lom� Convention were
paid through the Stabex system of the EEC. Those funds were channeled to
the CSPC for price support to the producers. The CSPC also received
portions of funds needed to assure payments to producers from Cotontchad
as well as from the central government. Between 1971 and 1983, virtually
all income to the CSPC derived from rebates paid by Cotontchad into the
system.
After 1984 the system became far more dependent on external sources
of funds (such as Stabex) because of sharply reduced income to
Cotontchad. In addition to Stabex, the EC's European Development Fund
(EDF) contributed directly to the program of improving yields. French
assistance remained crucial to the system. The Central Fund for Economic
Cooperation (Caisse Centrale de Coop�ration Economique--CCCE) was a
shareholder in Cotontchad, and the other arm of French foreign aid, the
Cooperation and Aid Fund (Fonds d'Aide et de la Coop�ration--FAC),
directed assistance to the southern zone in support of the cotton
complex. FAC also provided direct assistance to the government, which,
among other things, helped pay the salaries of officials and
functionaries, especially those in the ONDR.
Pricing Mechanisms
Prices paid to Chad's cotton producers, the peasants of the southern soudanian
zone, have risen slowly over the years. The structure included separate
prices for white cotton and for yellow cotton. From 1971, when the
distinction arose, to 1978, the price for white cotton was CFA F50 per
kilogram (for value of the CFA F) and stayed at this level during much
of the period of heavy civil conflict until 1982. From 1982 to 1985, the
price increased steeply to CFA F100 per kilogram, at which point it had
leveled by 1987, despite downward pressure because of the fall in world
prices and a new program of cost reductions by Cotontchad under World
Bank direction. The price paid for yellow cotton has not kept pace with
this rise, reaching only CFA F40 per kilogram in 1983, where it remained
through 1987.
The price paid to the producer traditionally has not covered actual
production costs, either for the peasant or for Cotontchad. As much as
50 percent of the costs of production has been borne by outside donors,
primarily from the EDF, through the Stabex system. Between 1981 and
1984, the EDF financed between 70 and 80 percent of the costs of the
program to improve yields, largely through subsidies to the CSPC for
price support and subsidies for Cotontchad in the initial purchase of
insecticides and fertilizers. The costs of improvements have been
reimbursed only partially from payments made by producers through the
ONDR.
Restructuring the System
By 1987, because world prices were still insufficient to recoup
costs, Cotontchad was rapidly going broke. In the mid-1980s, annual net
losses were estimated at CFA F18 billion. Net losses per kilogram of
ginned cotton were estimated at CFA F453 in 1985 and CFA F298 in 1987.
These figures stood in contrast to 1984, when there was a net profit of
CFA F193 per kilogram. Cotontchad's position was not expected to improve
unless the world price of cotton reached the CFA F600-per-kilogram
range.
With World Bank backing and support from France, the Netherlands, and
the EC, restructuring of Cotontchad began in 1986 with government
implementation of the Emergency Cotton Program. At the producer level,
the program called for freezing the price paid producers at the CFA
F100-per-kilogram level through 1988 and studying new methods of fixing
producer prices to reflect world market conditions. Subsidies on
improved inputs, such as fertilizer and insecticides, were eliminated as
of 1987, with producers assuming the costs. Cotton production was to be
limited to about 100,000 tons by restricting the area under production
to 75,000 hectares during the program period. At the company level,
Cotontchad sold nonessential assets to the private sector (including 2
aircraft and about 150 vehicles), closed its branch office in Bangui,
Central African Republic, and laid off administrative staff. It also
closed six ginneries and reduced the number of cotton collection centers
in accordance with the production target of 100,000 tons. For its part,
the government exempted Cotontchad from taxes, particularly export
duties, and suspended its contributions to the CSPC, the ONDR, and the
Debt Amortization Fund (Caisse Autonome d'Amortissement--CAA). Staffs at
the CSPC and the ONDR were reduced, and the roles of both organizations
were reviewed.
Chad - Subsistence Farming
Since the 1950s, Chad's food production has declined. Even so,
despite pockets of malnutrition remaining in areas where rains failed or
locusts damaged local crops, the overall picture for Chad's food
production was good in the 1985-87 period. The rebound of food
production in this period was the result of good rains, the return of
political stability, and the absence of major conflict in the sahelian
and soudanian zones. The downturn in cotton production and
added restrictions on its cultivation also released lands and labor for
farmers to put into food production. Production was so high in these
years that, for the first time in a decade, it was estimated that Chad
had returned to food sufficiency. This followed a cereal shortfall in
the drought years of 1984 and 1985 of around 325,000 tons. Total cereal
production rose thereafter to the 700,000-ton level, well above the
estimated 615,000 tons of grains needed for food sufficiency.
Yet the overall food sufficiency registered by Chad in these years
served to underscore the problem of regional imbalances in cereal
production. The sahelian zone experienced a chronic shortfall
in cereal production, whereas the soudanian zone traditionally
had a cereal surplus. The soudanian zone was also the biggest
producer of all subsistence food crops and of cash crops. It was
estimated that the soudanian zone produced between 53 and 77
percent of Chad's total cereal production from 1976 to 1985, with the
average falling in the 60- to 70- percent range. But because the
populations of the two regions were approximately equal, the lack of a
good transport system and marketing mechanisms to allow the rapid
transfer of the southern surplus to the northern zones was a constant
problem. This danger was especially threatening during times of drought
affecting the sahelian zone.
Sorghum and Millet
Chad's most important subsistence crops were sorghum, millet, and berebere.
Areas under production for these grains showed a downward trend after
the mid-1950s, dropping from an average of 1.5 million hectares to
around 1 million hectares in the 1960s and 1970s and falling to levels
averaging 750,000 hectares between 1981 and 1986. Taking an average for
all lands devoted to grain production during the years from 1981 to
1985, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), sorghum
and millet cultivation accounted for 85 percent of the total area.
Between 1980 and 1985, these coarse grains accounted for 80 to 95
percent of all grain production.
Wheat
In 1987 wheat was Chad's least important cereal grain. Farmers
planted the crop in polders around the shores of Lake Chad, and some
small planting also was done in the oases and wadis of northern Chad.
Replacing an earlier state operation, the Organization for the
Development of the Lake (Soci�t� pour le D�veloppement du
Lac--SODELAC) was founded in 1967 to organize cultivation and provide
wheat for the state-owned flour mill at N'Djamena, the Grands Moulins du
Tchad. The flour mill began operations in 1964 but closed in 1980; as of
1987, operations had not resumed. In the late 1970s, plans to plant some
20,000 hectares of wheat in polders failed because warfare around Lake
Chad affected the infrastructure of SODELAC and the construction of new
polders and because farmers resisted SODELAC-controlled production.
Wheat production generally followed trends similar to the production
of other cereals, remaining low in the 1960s and 1970s but reaching a
high in 1983. In 1984, however, production fell sharply. The bulk of
wheat was traded through traditional channels to those herders in the
northern regions of Chad who preferred wheat to millet or sorghum.
Rice and Corn
At the time of the French conquest, rice was grown on a small scale.
Before World War I, the Germans on the Cameroon side of the Logone River
encouraged the spread of rice cultivation. By World War II, the French
imposed cultivation in the areas of southern Chad near La� and K�lo,
along the Logone River. Although production was destined originally for
colonial troops, the taste for rice spread in some localities. What was
originally intended by the French as a commercial cash crop had become a
local subsistence crop by the 1980s.
The Development Office for Sategui Deressia (Office de Mise en Valeur
de Sategui-Deressia--OMVSD), founded in 1976, replaced Experimental
Sectors for Agricultural Modernization (Secteurs Exp�rimentaux de
Modernisation Agricole--SEMAA), originally responsible for the
organization, improvement, transformation, and commercialization of
rice. Efforts by these organizations to extend commercial rice
cultivation had mixed results. The area under rice cultivation has
increased since the 1950s. Yet even in the 1980s, the greater part of
this area was cultivated by traditional means. Schemes for controlled
paddies at Bongor and La� put only 3,500 hectares and 1,800 hectares,
respectively, into cultivation before political events of the late 1970s
and early 1980s disrupted efforts and international donor funding
ceased. The bulk of rice production from traditional floodwater paddies
was traded to the towns and cities or was consumed locally.
Corn was a crop of minor importance, grown in and around village
gardens for local consumption. Production from the late 1960s through
the mid-1980s remained in the 20,000- to 30,000-ton range. By 1987 no
efforts at commercialization had been made, nor had the government tried
to improve and extend corn production.
Peanuts
Peanuts have become an important food crop in Chad. Peanuts were
eaten roasted or dry, and their oil was used in cooking. Peanuts were
cultivated in both the soudanian and the sahelian
zones. Production of peanuts was more stable than that of any other
major crop, staying in the 90,000- to 100,000-ton range from the 1950s
through 1987, with dips in drought years. The area under peanut
production also remained stable, although kilograms-per-hectare yields
declined slightly. The droughtresistant nature of peanuts made their
production particularly important for the peoples of the sahelian
zone, where peanuts were planted alone or in combination with millet in
the first year of rotation; in the soudanian region, peanuts
were traditionally planted in the third year of crop rotation.
Although considerable efforts were made to commercialize peanut
production, most efforts failed. Through the 1960s and 1970s, about 97
percent of the annual crop went to local consumption. What remained was
sold to various edible oil manufacturing concerns, none of which
succeeded. For example, a Chinese-built peanut oil mill at Ab�ch�,
finished in 1969, never operated. Local farmers sold surplus peanuts
through traditional channels, rather than to the state monopoly set up
in 1965, the National Trading Company of Chad (Soci�t� Nationale de
Commercialisation du Tchad--SONACOT). This parastatal bought local
produce for sale abroad or domestically to state-run commercial
operations. Unlike Cotontchad, SONACOT was never given the means to
compel farmers to sell their crops, and it did not have the resources to
compete with prices offered by traditional traders. With the collapse of
central authority in 1979, SONACOT disappeared. The only commercial
sales of peanuts were then limited to Cotontchad purchases in the south,
but by 1987 these had been halted to reduce costs.
Tubers
The importance of tubers has grown dramatically over the years.
Cassava and yams were the most important crops in this category, with
much smaller production of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and coco yams
(taro). Grown only in the soudanian zone, tubers were once
neglected, although such cultivation is widespread in other parts of
subtropical West Africa. Estimates in the 1950s put tuber production at
50,000 tons annually. Production rose and by 1961 it exceeded 200,000
tons. From 1961 to 1984, the proportion of roots and tubers in the
national diet rose from 6 to 17 percent. The reason for this important
shift in eating habits among people of the soudanian zone was
the hedge these crops provided against famine in years when drought
reduced millet and sorghum production.
Chad - Livestock
Livestock raising, and in particular cattle herding, is a major
economic activity. Animal husbandry was the main source of livelihood
for perhaps a third of Chad's people. The growing importance of cattle
and meat exports underscored this point. In the 1960s and 1970s, these
exports were estimated at between 25 and 30 percent of all merchandise
exports. The proportion of these exports grew in the 1980s as the value
of cotton exports declined. It was impossible, however, to know with
certainty the actual values of cattle exports. For processed meat
exports, less uncertainty existed because these exports were controlled
from the slaughterhouse to the point of export; in 1985 processed meat
exports represented less than 1 percent of all merchandise exports. The
real value of Chad's cattle herds was in the export by traditional
traders to markets in Cameroon and Nigeria. These "on the
hoof" exports passed largely outside the control of customs
services. Therefore, these exports were neither counted nor taxed.
Perhaps one-fourth of cattle's estimated 30-percent share of total
exports, was officially recorded.
The size of Chad's herds was also difficult to determine. Considered
to have declined in the mid-1970s and again in the early 1980s because
of drought and warfare across the sahelian zone, estimated to
be growing at a rate of 4 percent annually, reached some 4 million head
of cattle, 4.5 million sheep and goats, 500,000 camels, and 420,000
horses and donkeys by the mid-1980s. Sheep and goats were found in all
regions of Chad.
Before the drought of the 1980s, the sahelian zone held the
largest herds, with about 80 percent of the total cattle herd. Smaller
numbers of cattle were found in the soudanian zone, along with
about 100,000 buffaloes used in plowing cotton fields. Camel herds were
concentrated in the dry northern regions. Herders practiced
transhumance--seasonal migrations along fairly well-set patterns.
With the 1984-85 drought, transhumance patterns changed. Camels were
brought farther south into the sahelian zone in search of
water. Cattle were herded even farther south, sometimes through Salamat
Prefecture into Central African Republic.
The government and international donor community had contemplated
considerable improvements for Chad's livestock management, but these
plans were undermined by the Chadian Civil War, political instability,
and an inadequate infrastructure. The most successful programs have been
animal vaccination campaigns, such as an emergency project carried out
in 1983 to halt the spread of rinderpest. The campaign reached some 4.7
million head of cattle across the nation and demonstrated the
capabilities of Chad's animal health service when given external
support. The Livestock and Veterinary Medicine Institute of Chad
(Institut d'Elevage et de M�decine V�t�rinaire du Tchad--IEMVT),
which was financed by foreign aid, was capable of producing vaccines for
Chad as well as for neighboring countries. Despite plant capacity, by
1984 a lack of a trained staff limited production to vaccines for
anthrax and pasteurellosis.
Two institutional efforts to manage cattle marketing were attempted
in the 1970s and 1980s. The Chadian Animal Resources Improvement Company
(Soci�t� Tchadienne d'Exploitation des Ressources Animales-- SOTERA),
a mixed enterprise formed as a livestock company with participation by
some traditional livestock traders, began operations in 1978. Its aim
was to control live animal exports through a license system and to have
a monopoly on exports of chilled meat and hides. It was hoped at the
time that the association of traders to SOTERA would increase the
effective collection of export taxes on livestock by 50 to 75 percent.
By 1984, however, SOTERA handled only a small portion of the domestic
market and less than 30 percent of the export trade. A second
institution, the Center for the Modernization of Animal Production
(Centre de Modernisation des Productions Animales--CMPA), was engaged in
marketing dairy products, supplying chicks to farmers, and overseeing
the sale of eggs and the processing of feed. But, among other problems,
the CMPA was unable to compete with local traders for milk needed to
produce cheese for sale. Although highly subsidized, this venture also
was unsuccessful and demonstrated the resilience of the traditional
private network for marketing produce.
Despite these institutional difficulties, the international community
continued to support efforts to expand animal health services to Chad's
herders. Some estimates suggest that the nation's herds could be
increased by 35 percent if the distribution of water were improved,
extension services were made more available, and animal health services
were expanded.
Chad - Fishing
With its two major rivers, Lake Chad, and many runoff zones, in the
1970s Chad ranked high among Africa's producers of inland freshwater
fish. With the drought and diversion of the waters of some rivers,
however, production declined in the 1980s. Traditionally, fish has been
an important source of protein for those living along the rivers and
lakes, and fishing was also a means of earning cash. Because it was
practiced in an entirely traditional manner and totally outside the
control of government or modern commercial enterprises, there was no
accurate statistical information on fishing.
In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, total production of fish was
estimated at between 60,000 and 120,000 tons per year. But because these
figures represent production for the Logone River and Lake Chad, which
are shared with Cameroon Niger, and Nigeria, Chad's fish production
amounted to an estimated 70 percent of the total. The largest part of
the catch--perhaps two-thirds--was consumed locally. In areas adjacent
to urban centers, some portion--usually the best of the catch, such as
large Nile perch (called capitaine in Chad)--was marketed
fresh. Along Lake Chad and the river borders with Cameroon, the surplus
catch was dried, salted, or smoked before being sold. Between 1976 and
1985, production of dried, salted, or smoked fish was estimated at
20,000 tons annually, representing from 20 to 25 percent of Chad's total
annual catch. A large share of the commerce in preserved fish was
carried on with markets in Cameroon and Nigeria. Small dried or salted
fish called salanga were most popular on the markets of
Cameroon. Larger smoked fish called banda were generally
exported to the major Nigerian market of Maiduguri.
Through the mid-1980s, Chad had taken few steps to control or
modernize fishing or to promote fish conservation, although some plans
had been made in the 1960s and 1970s. Perhaps the most significant
innovation applied by Chadian fishermen has been their use of nylon
netting, which began in the 1960s. During the periods of conflict, no
government plans could be carried out to control fishing. Although
considerable potential existed for the development of the Chadian
fishing industry, because of insufficient government interest
traditional production and marketing of freshwater fish was likely to
remain unchanged for the near term.
Chad - Forestry
Manufacturing
The small industrial sector was dominated by agribusiness, and
Cotontchad in particular. Next in importance were the National Sugar
Company of Chad (Soci�t� Nationale Sucri�re du Tchad-- SONASUT), the
Chadian Textile Company (Soci�t� Tchadienne de Textile--STT), the
Logone Breweries (Brasseries du Logone--BdL), and the Cigarette Factory
of Chad (Manufacture des Cigarettes du Tchad--MCT). Observers estimated
that these five industries generated some 20 percent of GDP. Of lesser
importance were the Farcha Slaughterhouse (Abattoir Frigorifique de
Farcha), the Industrial Agricultural Equipment Company (Soci�t�
Industrielle de Mat�riel Agricole du Tchad--SIMAT), and Soft Drinks of
Chad (Boissons Gazeuses du Tchad--BGT).
During the Chadian Civil War, the facilities and equipment of many
industries were badly damaged. Most industrial operations either ceased
or were reduced greatly, and almost all foreign investors withdrew from
the country. Those operations that did continue on a reduced scale were
limited to the soudanian region, which was not involved
directly in large-scale fighting. By 1983, with the reestablishment of
political stability on a national scale, the five major industrial
concerns resumed full operations, and the less significant ones, such as
SIMAT and the BGT, were rebuilt.
With the exception of the two bottling companies (the BGT and the
BdL), which were privately owned, all the other important industries
were either parastatals with majority government ownership or mixed
companies with important government participation. For the most part, private participation was limited to French
investors; investment by private Chadian interests was extremely rare.
French companies were also important shareholders in the larger Chadian
companies, such as Cotontchad. Except for Cotontchad, whose top
management was Chadian, all the other major industries were run by
expatriate directors, accountants, and mid-level managers who, for the
most part, were French.
Industrial output grew rapidly in 1983 and 1984, as industries
resumed operations that had been interrupted by war. By 1984 and 1985,
prewar levels of output had been either reached or exceeded. Growth
slowed for all industries after 1985, however, because of the dramatic
downturn of world cotton prices, and output in 1986 began to decline.
Cotton fiber production by Cotontchad, which directly reflected
production of raw cotton, fell sharply in 1985. This decline was
stabilized in 1986-87 by emergency support from international donors.
These donors prescribed retrenchment programs to prevent the total
collapse of the cotton industry. The restrictions imposed on the
production of ginned cotton fiber, however, reduced by half the number
of ginning mills, with raw cotton production limited to about 100,000
tons. Production of edible oils by Cotontchad was also affected by the
program of cost savings.
Other industries were affected directly by the fall of cotton prices.
STT textile production slowed, as did the production of agricultural
equipment by SIMAT, which made plowing equipment for use in cotton
planting. Furthermore, the drop in revenues to farmers in the soudanian
zone for their cotton and peanut production affected their ability to
buy equipment. Lost revenues to farmers, along with the reduction in the
numbers of workers needed in ginning operations, took a toll on cash
earnings and therefore on buying power. By 1986 the ripple effect of
these lost revenues in the cotton sector was widespread. The downturn in
production in all industries left Chad with considerable unused
capacity, ranging from 15 to 50 percent.
A number of other factors resulted in the slump in Chadian industry.
Commercial sale of goods was low in a largely cash poor or nonmonetary
economy. The decline in the cotton sector, which had provided the
largest infusion of cash into the economy, further reduced consumer
demand. Another impediment to industry was the high local cost of
production compared with the cost of production in neighboring
countries. Factors that raised local production costs included high
transportation costs, overdependence on imports, and restricted
economies of scale for small operations. Imported inputs were equivalent
to about 30 percent of industrial turnover for Cotontchad, the BdL, and
the STT and to about 60 percent for the MCT. Local substitutes for
inputs were often more expensive than imported equivalents. Imports were
often marketed to subsidize local production by a given industry. An
example was SONASUT's importing refined sugar at less than local
production costs, selling it locally, and using the proceeds to
subsidize sugarcane production on SONASUT plantations. Interlocking
relationships of production among companies also kept production costs
high. For example, the BGT used SONASUT's refined sugar in its
production of soft drinks, according to a convention with the government
to use local inputs, even though imported refined sugar was cheaper.
Before the warfare of the 1979-82 period, Chad's industrial sector
included between 80 and 100 small- to medium-sized enterprises, in
addition to the major manufacturing industries. Most processed
agricultural products or competed in the importexport trade. About half
were local subsidiaries of foreign-owned firms or were Chadian firms
with significant foreign capital. The foreign-owned distributorships
sold agricultural equipment, construction materials, and petroleum
products.
Since 1983 the return of foreign investment has been slow because of
the high costs of rebuilding and a continuing perception of political
uncertainty. Of the approximately twenty enterprises that had reopened
by the late 1980s, most were import-export enterprises that lacked a
formal relationship with the banking sector. Most Chadian-owned
enterprises had managed to reestablish themselves. Yet by 1986, small
enterprises that had assembled bicycles, motorcycles, and radios
remained closed.
The lack of access to credit was another impediment to business
expansion in Chad. Despite the reopening in 1983 of the Bank of Central
African States (Banque des Etats d'Afrique Centrale--BEAC) and of two
commercial banks, the International Bank for Africa in Chad (Banque
Internationale pour l'Afrique au Tchad--BIAT) and the Chadian Credit and
Deposit Bank (Banque Tchadienne de Cr�dit et de D�p�t--BTCD), the
high proportion of available credit going to Chad's major industries
limited credit available to smaller enterprises. Moreover, the banks
invoked strict criteria for loan eligibility because of the high risk of
lending in Chad. Few owners of small businesses knew sufficient
accounting and technical skills to meet bank information requirements
for loans.
Mining
The only mineral exploited in Chad was sodium carbonate, or natron.
Also called sal soda or washing soda, natron was used as a salt for
medicinal purposes, as a preservative for hides, and as an ingredient in
the traditional manufacture of soap; herders also fed it to their
animals. Natron deposits were located around the shore of Lake Chad and
the wadis of Kanem Prefecture.
Natron occurs naturally in two forms: white and black. More valuable
commercially, hard blocks of black natron were exported to Nigeria.
White natron was sold on local markets, principally in N'Djamena and
farther to the south. Although efforts were made in the late 1960s to
control the commercialization of natron through the creation of a
parastatal, by 1970 those efforts had failed because of resistance by
traditional chiefs and traders who controlled production through a
system of perpetual indebtedness.
A number of other mineral deposits are known, but none had been
commercially exploited by the mid-1980s. Bauxite is found in the soudanian
zone, and gold-bearing quartz is reported in Biltine Prefecture. Uranium
is reported in the Aozou Strip, as are tin and tungsten in other parts
of the Tibesti Mountains, but exploration reports in 1971 for these
three minerals did not indicate large or rich deposits. As of 1987,
conflicts in the region prevented further exploration.
By far the potentially most important resource is oil. In 1970 a
consortium of Conoco, Shell, Chevron, and Exxon started exploration and
in 1974 discovered minor oil deposits at S�digi, near Rig Rig, to the
north of Lake Chad. Total reserves at S�digi were estimated at 60
million tons, or roughly 438 million barrels of oil. Exploration in 1985
by the Exxon-led consortium discovered potentially large deposits near
Doba in the southern region of Chad. Further efforts were suspended in
1986 when world oil prices continued to drop, although the consortium
maintained a liaison office in N'Djamena in 1988.
Plans existed in the late 1970s to exploit the deposits at S�digi
and to construct a small refinery at N'Djamena. Those plans lapsed
during the conflicts of the late 1970s and early 1980s but were revived
in 1986 by the government with the support of the World Bank. The
reasons for proceeding with plans to exploit these deposits and build a
refinery were clear. The cost of importing petroleum products exceeded
the cost of extracting and refining domestic crude, even when
international oil prices were low. The plans, which anticipated
operations to begin in the early 1990s, included well development in the
S�digi field, a pipeline to N'Djamena, a refinery with a 2,000- to
5,000-barrels-per-day capacity, and the transformation or acquisition of
power-generating equipment in the capital to burn the refinery's
residual fuel oil. The refinery's output would satisfy 80 percent of
Chad's annual fuel needs, including all gasoline, diesel, butane, and
kerosene; lubricants and jet fuel, however, would still have to be
imported.
Water and Electricity
In the late 1980s, public utilities in Chad were extremely limited.
The Chadian Water and Electricity Company (Soci�t� Tchadienne d'Eau et
d'Electricit�--STEE), was the major public utility company. The
government held 82 percent of the shares and CCCE held 18 percent. STEE
provided water and electricity to the four main urban areas, N'Djamena,
Moundou, Sarh, and Ab�ch�. The company supplied water, but not
electricity, to six other towns. Despite old equipment and high
maintenance costs, STEE was able to meet about half of peak demand,
which increased significantly from 1983 to 1986. Production of
electricity rose by 35 percent from 1983 to 1986, and the supply of
water increased by 24 percent during the same period. In 1986 STEE
produced 62.1 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and supplied 10.8
million cubic meters of water.
In N'Djamena the majority of households had access to water. There
were, however, only about 3,000 officially connected customers, a good
proportion of which were collective customers. There were also an
estimated 1,500 illegal water connections. The rest of the people
received water from standpipes. Some 5,000 customers were officially
connected for electricity in the capital in 1986, with an unknown number
of illegal connections. Because electricity was so expensive and because
electrical appliances were beyond the means of most people, the
consumption of power per household was low. The high cost of electricity
also hindered the expansion of small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Chad - TRADE AND COMMERCE
Historically, Chad has been a country of traders. The ancient
kingdoms of Kanem, Borno, and Wadai built their power on trade with
Libya, Egypt, and Sudan. During the colonial period, trade increased
with francophone countries and Nigeria. In the 1970s, the structure and
direction of external trade remained similar to the pattern of colonial
times, the most important trading partners being France and Nigeria.
Exports to France were principally cotton fiber, and imports were
finished manufactured goods and equipment. Much of the trade with
Nigeria, consisting of cattle, fish, natron, and other traditional
products, was unrecorded and did not pass through official channels.
Since the civil upheavals of the late 1970s and early 1980s, which
restricted all external trade, unofficial trade with Nigeria has
resumed. Official trade with France declined after 1982, primarily
because many French-affiliated firms closed during the conflicts. As of
late 1987, many of those concerns had not reopened.
Controlling smuggling and black market activity was very difficult.
Chad and its neighbors had few resources that could be devoted to border
control. Collusion among smugglers and border patrols and customs agents
was common. Moreover, Chad's unofficial trade with Nigeria, Cameroon,
and Central African Republic has historical and social roots. Tribal and
extended family connections across borders encouraged traders to
maintain long-range commercial and financial networks beyond colonial
and, later, national government control and taxes. Traders unofficially
exported the bulk of Chad's exports of cattle, fish, and other
traditional products. Unofficial imports consisted of petroleum products
and consumer goods, such as sugar, cooking oil, soap, and cigarettes,
that competed with production by national industries. The permeability
of Chad's borders and the informality of traditional trading networks
denied the government revenues ordinarily derived from export-import
duties. Locally produced goods and legal imports fared badly in this
market, burdened as they were with high production costs, lack of
economies of scale, and price distortions imposed by government
controls.
Exports
The bulk of Chad's official exports were agricultural products, which
have accounted for 80 to 95 percent of all exports since independence.
Of these exports, cotton fiber was most important, followed by cattle
and beef exports. The value of Chad's cotton fiber exports rose steadily
in the 1970s. During the early 1980s, as armed conflict took its toll on
cotton production, the value of cotton fiber exports dropped. The return
of political stability in 1983 and increased cotton production coincided
with a rise in world cotton prices, resulting in dramatic increases in
the value of Chad's cotton exports in 1983 and 1984. The value of these
exports more than doubled from 1982 to 1983 and almost doubled again in
1984.
The downturn of world cotton prices in 1985 caused a collapse in
cotton exports. The value of cotton fiber exports from Chad in 1985 was
less than half that of the record 1984 level; the value fell even
further in 1986. In 1984 cotton fiber had represented 73 percent of the
value of all Chad's exports, but in 1986 it represented only 43 percent.
The value of all exports also reflected the decline, falling. From a
high in 1984 of almost CFA F48 billion to around CFA F34 billion in
1986.
The estimated value of Chad's cattle exports remained more stable
from 1983 to 1986. As the value of cotton fiber exports declined, the
relative importance of cattle exports to the Chadian economy grew.
Imports
Since the late 1960s, the economic significance of imported
manufactured and capital goods has grown considerably. From 1967 to
1970, manufactured goods of all types accounted for 46 to 50 percent of
Chad's imports. By 1975 manufactured goods accounted for 65 percent of
imports. The total value of all imports also grew, doubling between 1965
and 1970 to almost CFA F13 billion. Total imports continued to grow
through 1978 to nearly CFA F36 billion before showing a serious decline
from 1979 to 1981 because of the heavy fighting. Imports increased after
1982, reaching around CFA F37 billion in 1983 and then doubling by 1985.
The leap in imports between these years reflected not only the increase
in imported manufactured and capital goods needed to rebuild the
shattered economic infrastructure but also an increase in food
assistance in these years of drought. The downturn of imports between
1985 and 1986 indicated in part a decline in food imports with the
return of good rains.
Direction of Trade
Throughout the 1960s--Chad's first decade of independence-- France
remained its most important official trading partner. In 1970 France
absorbed 73 percent of Chad's exports and provided some 40 percent of
Chad's imports. Between 1979 and 1985, Chad diversified its markets by
trading more actively with Spain, the Federal Republic of Germany (West
Germany), and particularly Portugal, which absorbed the bulk of Chad's
exports, mainly cotton fiber. By 1985 France ranked sixth behind
Portugal, West Germany, Cameroon, Spain and the Benelux countries
(Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg). Chad's exports of beef and
other traditional products to its neighbors, and especially to Nigeria,
did not appear in official trade figures.
Although losing significance as a customer, France remained Chad's
most important supplier. In 1985 France supplied almost onefourth of
Chad's total imports. The United States ranked second, followed by
Cameroon, Italy, and the Benelux countries; unspecified West European
countries accounted for about 21 percent of Chad's imports in 1985. Chad
had little trade with Middle Eastern and North African countries. Both
official and black market oil imports came from either Cameroon or
Nigeria. Chad had no declared trade with the Soviet Union or East
European countries.
