Niger - Science and technology

Niger relies heavily on foreign sources for technical expertise, and French agencies are especially active; the Bureau of Geological and Mineral Research, the French Company for the Development of Textile Fibers, the Institute of Fruit and Citrus Fruit Research, and the French Institute of Scientific Research for Development and Cooperation all have offices in Niamey.

The National Institute of Agronomical Research of Niger, in Niamey, maintains two soil-science stations, at Tarka and Kolo. There is also a national office of solar energy and a veterinary laboratory in Niamey. The Livestock Service of Niger has a Sahelian experimental station at Filingué for breeding zebu cattle and a center for goat breeding and poultry raising at Maradi. The University of Niamey, founded in 1971, includes faculties of science, agronomy, and health services, and institutes of radioisotopes and of research on the teaching of mathematics. In 1987–97, science and engineering students accounted for 32% of college and university enrollments. The National Museum of Niger, founded in 1959 in Niamey, has a zoo, a geological and mineral exhibition, and paleontology and pre-history museums.