Département de Sociologie et Economie Rurales (DSER), Faculté d’Agronomie, Université Abdou Moumouni Laboratoire d’Analyse et de Recherche en Sociologie et Economie Rurales (LARSER), Niamey, Niger
In Niger, the vulnerability of rural households is increasingly accentuated insofar as they depend mainly on rain-fed agriculture, which has been subject for several decades to the devastating effects of climate change. Thus, the issue of the sustainability of agriculture in development policy should not be overlooked. In this sense, this study is focused on assessing the economic sustainability of 234 millet and Karma cowpea farms in a context of climate change. To assess the performance of this dimension, 11 indicators divided into 4 components of the IDEA (Indicator of Sustainability of Agricultural Operations) version 4 method have been defined. The formulas for calculating scores by indicator, by component and then by dimension were developed based on the method developed in the HEA (Household Economic Approach) Extensive approach. Overall, the score for economic sustainability is 2.15, reflecting the low sustainability of these farms. The results show that two indicators were sustainable. These are aid sensitivity and economic transmissibility with respective scores of 3.47 and 2.93. To have an economically viable agriculture, the rest of the indicators should be optimized in order to increase the score of the economic sustainability of the municipality of Karma.