This article deals with the control of land resources through ownership, access and acquisition of agricultural land in the Tahoua region of Niger. It explains how male and female heads of household access and acquire agricultural land. It also looks at the availability of cropland and the size of farmland in rural areas. An analysis of 84 sample heads of household, 42 of them male and 42 female, showed that inheritance remains the dominant mode of acquisition, with 52% of households acquiring land. This is followed by purchase coupled with inheritance (19%) and rental (7%). Female heads of household rent (12% renters vs. 2.40% renters of agricultural land) and lend (4.80% vs. 2.40% of men). The analysis shows that the farmland available to households consists of fields and gardens. Male and female households have plots of varying sizes, up to 15 hectares for fields and 3 hectares for gardens. On average, female households have only 2 hectares of land, compared with around 6 hectares for male households. A comparison of average field sizes, using ANOVA analysis with Tukey’s test, shows that the average areas owned by heads of households in different zones are not significantly different. The average is 4.39 ha in agricultural zones versus 3.07 ha in agro-pastoral zones.

The Diffa region is located in the far east of Niger and occupies 12.4% of the country’s total land area where agriculture, livestock, and fishing remain the main activities of the people living there. As of February 2015, the region hosted more than 24,000 uprooted people, including Nigerien refugees, internally displaced persons in Niger, and Nigerien returnees who were previously living in Nigeria (UNHCR, 2021). The settlement of refugees not only has impacts on the environment but also on economic and social activities. This paper aims to analyze the environmental and socio-economic impacts of refugee activities in and around the camps (Diffa urban commune, Boudouri, Maina Kaderi, and Sayam forage). In order to analyze the impacts (identification, mapping, and observation of impacts in the field), three (3) approaches are used in this work. Surveys, field observations, and GIS and remote sensing analysis. The results show that refugee activities can have impacts on the environment but over the long term (10 to 15 years). Some effects related to soil degradation, destruction of vegetation, and pollution of water resources (quantity and quality) are observed in and around the sites in only 3 years of presence (GIS, remote sensing and field observation). At all sites, a decrease in fallow land, an increase in bare soil, and an increase in human settlements have been observed, signs that can have consequences on the environment. The accumulation of household waste that prevents the proper infiltration of rainwater into the soil and whose runoff carries away essential elements. As for mitigation measures, a strict application of laws and regulations on environmental protection is required.