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Helpdesk Report K4D: Drivers, Challenges and Opportunities for Job Creation in the Sahel

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Mauritania
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DFID
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1. Summary

This review synthesises the literature from academic, policy and institutions sources on the drivers of job creation in the Sahel countries Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. The report first shows a baseline on employment in the five Sahel countries. Data from the World Bank shows that with the exception of Mauritania the countries are among the highest labour force participation rate in sub-Saharan Africa, while very low on employee’s levels. For subSaharan standards, Mauritania has very high level of wage and salaried workers (51.2% in 2016), while around 10% for the other four countries. Unemployment rates are the highest in Mauritania (9.8% in 2016) and for the countries, unemployment is higher for youth and women (except from Niger where women unemployment is a little below the official unemployment rate), according to the World Bank data for 2016. Between 40% (Mauritania) and 50% (Niger) of the population is under 15 years. The population is expected to grow more than double in size in 2050, for example in Mali the expected net annual increase in the labour force is around 200 thousand workers in the next 20 years (IMF, 2015). Urbanisation rates in the Sahel countries are low in comparison with other countries is sub-Saharan Africa, in particular in Chad (23%) and Burkina Faso (32%). Mauritania again is different with the highest urbanisation level of 61%.

The Sahel countries are amongst the countries with the highest employment rates in the agriculture sector in sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank data for 2016). Chad has one of the highest level of employment in agriculture with 87% in 2016. Niger and Mauritania also belong to the countries with the highest employment rates in agriculture, both with 76%. In Mali employment in the agricultural sector is growing since 2004, while in Burkina Faso jobs in agriculture are vastly declining since 2006. For the other jobs, employment is dominated by the informal sector with all countries above 90% of workers in informal jobs (% of total non-agricultural employment). For example, in Burkina Faso with a total employment rate of 6.4 million people it was estimated that just 685,625 have formal jobs in 2015, of which 22.6% are government employees (IMF, 2018). In Niger 80% of the mining workforce works in the informal sector (US Department of State, 2013). In particular, in Mauritania the informal labour force has seen a widespread increase of migrant labour force.

A more detailed look at the economic sectors in the Sahel countries shows that the food economy and the non-food agricultural sector (mainly cotton) are the main providers for jobs. The share of employment in the food economy (on-farm and off-farm) compared to total employment are the highest for all West-African countries, with rates higher than 80% of total employment, with only Mauritania below the West-African average with 52%. With the exception of Mauritania, the share of food economy employment in the total rural employment for the Sahel is the highest for the West African region (with Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso all well above 90%).

However, only Niger and Burkina Faso have the high share of food economy employment in the total urban employment (50% and 47% respectively) (Allen et al., 2018). 99% of employment in agriculture relates to food agriculture, however, farmers in Burkina Faso and Mali in particular rotate food crops with the non-food crop cotton, and as such are partly working in the food economy. Furthermore, those in agriculture work significantly fewer hours than those in downstream segments of the food economy (Allen et al., 2018).

Maize, millet, rice and sorghum are the main staple crops. Livestock are the most traded products between West African countries and the sector employs approximately 30% of total employment (in case of Mali). The rural population in Mali, living in settlements of less than 5,000 inhabitants and involved in livestock farming systems, is extremely significant: at 60% of the total population. However, this share is expected to decrease down to 40% by 2050 due to the expansion of crop cultivation (Ly et al., 2010). Fishery is in some areas an important sector, but with the exception of Mauritania, mostly combined at household level with farming or livestock. In Mauritania, fisheries as an economic sector is important, accounting for 10% of GDP and 50% of export earnings.

Off-farm employment in food economy is far lower in the Sahel countries than in other West African countries, with the exception of Mauritania. In Mali and Niger the share is 9%, in Burkina Faso 13%, in Chad 15% and in Mauritania 24% (West Africa average is 22%) (Allen et al, 2018). Food marketing is the largest off-farm segment, while processing is smaller. The non-farm employment in food economy relates more to urban areas. With employment in food processing in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger respectively 34%, 41% and 40% based in urban areas.

Employment in the processing sector is dominated by women and tends to be unskilled and labour intensive. Food marketing is even stronger related to urban areas in these countries (46% in Mali and 57% in Burkina Faso) (Allen et al., 2018).

Non-food agriculture exists mainly of cotton (Mali, Burkina Faso and Chad) and some other niche products as shea nuts. According to the FAO 4 million Burkinabes (22% of the population) support themselves through activities connected to the cotton sector, however, mainly related to agriculture and less to processing. For Mali and Burkina Faso, 98% of the cotton is exported, the remaining 2% remains in the countries for processing into artisanal weaving yarns (unbleached, white, and dyed thread) and printed fabrics (bogolan fabrics, woven cloth, and woven koba). Although an important export product (the countries are the world’s number six and seven exporters of cotton, mainly to Bangladesh garment industry), the sector counts for low value added to the economy (US GAIN, 2018). Low wages for hired labour on smallholdings also interact closely with risks associated with involuntary labour, and combined with high levels of child labour, have important implications for rural livelihoods. The cotton sector is increasing again, due to support programmes and higher market prices, after a decline in productivity in the 1990s and start of 2000s. In Chad, the cotton industry is still in decline.

The extractive industry is increasing rapidly in the region (Chad mainly oil, Mauritania mainly iron, Niger mainly Uranium, and Burkina Faso and Mali mainly gold). However, modern largescale mining does not employ many workers. It has historically been capital-intensive, and this feature increased with technological progress. Thus, extractive industries, like oil and gas industry or mining industry, could be characterised of being cut off from the domestic economy except through royalties and taxes. For example, the mining industry officially employs 3,700 people in Mali, mainly in gold mining – an amount that over the years has not very much changed (Chuhan-Pole et al., 2017). For every one mining job created, 1.67 jobs are created elsewhere through backward linkages and expenditure effects (Sanoh & Coulibaly, 2015). In other words, the multiplier effects are limited, partly because of the capital intensity of the mining industry, but also because of the lack of local cost-effective procurement opportunities (ChuhanPole, 2017).

Manufacturing and construction are industries that are underdeveloped in the region. Manufacturing is mainly related to the agro-pastoral sector by processing food (crops, seed oils, fish and livestock) and non-food agricultural products (cotton and shea nuts). 50% of the employment in the secondary sector relates to the processing of food in Niger, 38% in Burkina Faso and 32% in Mali (Allen et al., 2018). The manufacturing in Niger counts only for 6% of GDP in 2016 and in Burkina Faso manufacturing accounted for 6.6% of GDP in 2015 and the share of manufactured goods in total export of goods was in 2014 10.4% (IMF, 2018b). In Chad the sector counts for 3.2% of GDP in 2016. In particular, de-industrialisation could be witnessed in Mali, the numbers show that Mali’s manufacturing sector has steadily contracted as a share of output as percentage of GDP (from 12% in 1995 to 7% in 2013) while it remained flat in most other countries in West Africa (IMF, 2015). On the other hand, the share of output of agriculture remained stable, while in other countries in the West African region its share had declined (IMF, 2015).

In the timespan of this research, no recent literature could be found on exact numbers of people working in service sectors (private or public sector workers). Only for Burkina Faso recent data shows that the government wage bill has increased rapidly since 2000, reflecting a large expansion in government employment, particularly in education and security (IMF, 2016).