Agricultural land facing the urban spatial dynamics of the city of Sarh in Chad
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Abstract
The spatial growth of cities in Africa in general and in Chad in particular has occurred quickly and dramatically. This is caused by several factors with numerous consequences and raises enormous challenges, including the expansion of cities into nearby countryside. The town of Sarh located in the southeast of the Middle Chari region in Chad has experienced rapid urbanization which has led to its expansion. This gave rise to a phenomenon of land transactions on the outskirts of the city. This article, which opens a new vision in the in-depth study of urban dynamics, aims to provide a good analysis of the governance of agricultural land in the urban and peripheral areas of Sarh and ends with a certain number of proposals for a sustainable agricultural land release. This research is the result of a direct geo-political fieldwork observation of a problem which is not specific to Sarh, but which is growing. For this, the materials used are, among others: field trips, observation, field surveys, consultation of works that deal with the theme and the laboratory. They approach the work from a descriptive angle by describing the facts that we then observed to establish a relationship and by carrying out a retrospective analysis on the problem that the subject deals with. As part of this work, our methodology is essentially structured in stages, of which we have therefore used the hypothetical-deductive approach. This is based on methods aimed at verifying our hypotheses and achieving our objectives. This is already what has allowed us to affirm that Chadian agriculture contributes to the economy, especially its large share in the formation of (GDP) Gross Domestic Product estimated at 43%, of which 40% comes from food production, and 3% from cash crops, including urban crops. This is why it is a major provider of employment which occupies around 80% of the country's active population, more than half of which is made up of women. Urbanization has been recognized not only as a major challenge, but also as an opportunity to be seized to make urban land accessible and transparent with a view to promoting agricultural development, social integration and environmental sustainability in the context of cities of the future. In our observation, we realize that the environmental threat in Sarh is real. This is why it is essential to make the most of this urban spatial growth of our cities.
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