Northern Togo has never been over-assisted as some of the other dry and poor areas of West Africa have been. It has never been a priority of national or international development organisations. As a consequence, the area has intermittent food security problems. Islands of Peace (Vredeseilanden), a Flemish NGO for development cooperation, however, has initiated a (successful) savings and credit scheme based on local surpluses which now allows local populations to invest and consolidate their (food security) situation.