Bamboo being carried to a construction site. - - Developing the Agricultural Potential of Tahoua Department. Tahoua Department is situated partly in the Sahel, partly in the Sahara. Since 1968, it hasn't produced enough food to meet its needs and the situation has worsened in recent years. The Niger Government has embarked on a project in the area to establish six hundred hectare sites for irrigated crops, distributing land and seeds, and digging the wells. It is also resettling nomadic herdsmen who have lost their animals in the drought. Roads are being built to provide better access to markets. Measures are also being taken against desertification and erosion by the rare, but sudden and heavy, rainfalls.