Floods destroyed more than 400 hectares of rice in Niger's southeastern Diffa region, already beset by deadly attacks by Boko Haram jihadists, the local governor said.

Forty-five people have died in the arid west African country of Niger in flooding since June, and nearly 209 000 have been affected, the UN said on Tuesday.

A farmer from Burkina Faso who popularized an ancient farming technique to reverse desertification is among the winners of Sweden's "alternative Nobel prize", announced on Monday.

In this report, CHIKA OKEKE examines issues bordering on resuscitation of Lake Chad and the need for regional governments to tackle the problem headlong.

Twenty-two people are dead and thousands have been left homeless in Niger after torrential rains caused heavy flooding, authorities said.

Eight West African states have called for emergency aid for four countries in the Sahel facing food shortages as a result of jihadist violence.

Morocco and Niger signed on Wednesday in Rabat a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation and coordination.

The United Nations aid chief raised alarm on Tuesday over a worsening food crisis in the Sahel region that has sent malnutrition rates skyrocketing to their worst level since 2012.