Under the midday sun in Kouloudia Sub-Prefecture, Chad, Achta, a farmer and member of a women producers’ group, prepares millet grain for her family. Just a year ago, her land had been abandoned due to drought and insecurity. Now, she has harvested enough to feed her children and sell surplus at the market.
Achta's experience reflects a broader change across the Lake Chad Basin. The region has faced decades of conflict and climate change. Once among the world’s largest freshwater lakes, Lake Chad has lost nearly 90% of its surface area since the 1970s. The basin became barren and contested, affecting millions of people who depended on it for their livelihoods. Since 2009, an armed insurgency has disrupted communities across Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, displacing families and hindering farming, fishing, and trade.
In response to these challenges, the governments of Cameroon, Chad, and Niger partnered with the World Bank and other organizations in 2020 to launch PROLAC—a $170 million initiative aimed at supporting recovery and development in the region. The project focuses on restoring livelihoods and local economies while encouraging regional cooperation.
Over five years, PROLAC has provided direct support to more than 434,000 people by establishing irrigation systems, rehabilitating water basins and polders, and distributing seeds and equipment to help farmers recover from droughts and conflict. In western Chad alone, 2,400 hectares of previously abandoned polders have been restored with solar-powered pumps replacing fuel-based systems. In Niger’s oasis basins, new opportunities are emerging for rural employment—especially among women working in onion and pepper production value chains. In Cameroon’s Far North region, hydraulic infrastructure was rebuilt quickly after severe flooding in 2024 so communities could regain access to markets.
In Chad specifically, efforts such as restoring polders and installing solar panels have expanded agricultural production. In Niger's Réréwa Krilama Oasis Basin area, a dune stabilization project involved 130 households in rehabilitating 110 hectares of land; each household earned 110,000 FCFA through this work.
PROLAC also addresses employment needs by creating jobs through labor-intensive public works. The project employs about 50,000 people—many being youth or women—with activities like rehabilitating roads to improve market access, digging irrigation canals for dry fields, building storage facilities for harvest protection, and stabilizing sand dunes to prevent farmland erosion. These jobs provide immediate income while building infrastructure that benefits communities long-term.
More than 100,000 people—almost half women—have reported increased yields and better-quality crops due to these interventions. Local markets that had been quiet are now active again.
Alhadj Ousmane, a trader at Ndarangou rural market in Chad said: “Before the project's intervention, this market consisted of a few sheds built with non-durable materials that could be destroyed by wind and rain. But thanks to PROLAC, the market is now built with durable materials and opens every week. We have also benefited from solar panels, a wire fence that prevents animals from wandering, and solar freezers for food preservation and the sale of fresh water. This also brings in a little money for the market management committee to pay maintenance workers.”
Across Cameroon’s Fotokol Market as well as other locations supported by PROLAC interventions, farmers are able to sell produce in improved facilities.
The program aims not only to restore livelihoods but also to strengthen relationships between citizens and government by channeling investments through local authorities who work directly with communities. Its regional approach allows countries to share information on security issues so that roads remain safe for trade and shared water resources are managed effectively.
While challenges remain—including insecurity in some areas and unpredictable climate conditions—the progress seen in bustling markets and productive fields signals steps toward recovery for the Lake Chad Basin region.