Managing Resources for Agriculture Production in Niger

Program Overview

MCC’s $442.6 million Niger Compact (2018-2024) funded the $77.6 million Climate-Resilient Communities Project (CRC) Project and the $36.6 million Agriculture Activity to increase incomes for small-scale agriculture-dependent households and improve food security. The Activity contributed to this objective through two sub-activities aimed at increasing the volume and value of products sold and/or traded: (1) a grant facility with grants for community-level organizations—Climate-Resilient Agriculture (CRA) grants—and private-sector partnerships (PSPs) with cost-sharing grants for larger businesses (PSP grants); and (2) development of Integrated Climate Resilient Investment Plans (ICRIPs) and funding interventions to advance those plan goals.

Key Findings

Evaluation Questions

This final impact and performance evaluation was designed to answer the following questions:

1. 1
   To what extent was the project implemented according to plan (in terms of quantity and quality of outputs)?
2. 2
   Did the project achieve its stated objective to increase the volumes and values of products sold and traded, in the timeframe and magnitude expected, as documented in the current M&E Plan? Why or why not?

Detailed Findings

Implementation Strengths and Challenges

CRA Grants met key output targets for the number of grant agreements signed and amount disbursed. ICRIPs achieved its targets for the number of farmers trained, hectares of degraded land under restorative techniques, and number of livestock kit recipients.

Stakeholders appreciated how the activity built capacity among beneficiaries, MCA staff, and local contractor staff. They also valued the strong community engagement.

Originally, the World Bank was supposed to lead implementation of the activity. Because of this plan, only limited due diligence and design work were carried out before the compact began, and MCA staffing for the activity was minimal. When MCC determined that the World Bank consultation process would not include several key MCC-required due diligence steps and align with MCC standards, it led to significant delays and challenges. MCC and MCA had to redesign the activity and adjust staffing structures to provide oversight. In part, due to the initial World Bank implementation plan and the relatively small size of the activity within the larger, complex Niger compact, the activity did not receive sufficient attention. This further contributed to delays.

One component of each sub-activity—the PSP grants on the CRA grants facility sub-activity and a small-scale irrigation component under the ICRIPs sub-activity—were ultimately cancelled. PSP Grants faced both delays and challenges in the selection process, including perceived conflicts of interest. Small-scale irrigation also experienced delays, compounded by feasibility requirements designed for large-scale works that were not adapted to the needs of small-scale investments.

Climate-Resilient Agriculture

Grantees report large increases in production and sales volumes, with a median four-fold increase compared to pre-grant sales levels. Most grantees report improving and adding value to their products by improving quality, hygiene, packaging, and other features. However, the extent to which these quality improvements translated into higher prices shows mixed results. While both quantitative and qualitative data point to increased sale prices, inflation was a significant driver of price changes and also increased the costs of necessary inputs. As a result, while profits were positive, grantees report that inflation pushed up input costs by more than they increased the sales prices for their produce. Looking ahead, most organizations believe they would continue operating in the future.

Grantees report large increases in revenue, costs, and profits, with a median 13-fold increase compared to pre-grant profits. Grantee members also report overall positive impacts on their personal income, with the median payout increasing two-fold compared to before receiving grants.

Integrated Climate-Resilient Investment Plans

Qualitatively, beneficiaries have increased the volume of agricultural goods they sell on the market. The geographic information systems (GIS)-based impact evaluation found improvements in underlying land conditions that support crop production. As for the value of goods, ICRIPs did not appear to substantially impact this aspect of the objective.

Most beneficiaries reported their incomes had increased thanks to ICRIPs interventions. In particular, beneficiaries credited the trainings in improved agricultural practices, the construction of demi-lunes (water saving, half-moon pits built on fields), and the provision of small ruminant kits. Though beneficiaries acknowledged the negative effect of inflation and rising prices, most nonetheless believed the income increases outweighed the negative impact of inflation.

MCC Learning

• 
  Effective technical assistance that is customized to the communities where the work is being implemented can yield strong gains on agricultural projects.
• 
  When working with an external partner, a clear plan for collaboration needs to be detailed during the development phase.
• 
  Capacity building is critical to preparing organizations to achieve what they set out in grant applications.
• 
  The application process for small grants should align with the capabilities of the intended beneficiaries and the review process should ensure timely responses to applicants.

Evaluation Methods

Social Impact completed an ex-post-performance evaluation and a GIS-based impact evaluation (using difference-in-difference) to assess changes in outputs and outcomes for the CRA Grants and ICRIPs interventions. Evaluation data collection included two rounds: late-2023 just before the compact end date and the endline approximately one year later in late-2024.

In 2023, Social Impact conducted 28 key informant interviews with MCC, MCA, and implementing contractors covering implementation of both sub-activities and successes to date.

For the CRA Grants sub-activity, SI conducted a quantitative survey, including direct observation of all 85 grantees, as well as 43 qualitative key informant interviews. The final CRA Grants closed in September 2023, giving an exposure period of 13 to 25 months, depending on a grant’s specific closure date. For ICRIPs, SI combined qualitative data with secondary quantitative data as well as conducted a remote sensing and GIS-based assessment of land conditions and land productivity. Qualitative data consisted of 108 beneficiary interviews as well as direct observations of 20 farmer field schools, 24 individual farmer fields, and 19 communal land areas supported by the intervention. GIS data included measurements of soil moisture, vegetation, land survey temperature, evapotranspiration, and land use/cover. ICRIP plans were completed by end-2022 and funded interventions were completed between 2022-2023, resulting in an exposure period of 10-24 months.

2026-002-3145