Niger Compact

MCC’s $442.6 million compact is addressing two major constraints to economic growth and investment in Niger: lack of access to water for productive uses and physical access and institutional barriers to trade. In partnership with the Government of Niger, the MCC compact is increasing rural incomes by improving the sustainable productive use of natural resources for agricultural production and improving trade and market access for agricultural products. The compact has the potential to benefit approximately 3.9 million people.

In Niger, the agricultural sector employs more than 80 percent of the population and represents the second-largest export sector. However, due to frequent drought and floods that decimate crops and productive assets, much of the Nigerien population struggles to maintain a subsistence existence, let alone increase household incomes. Although poverty trends are slowly improving, with a climate prone to volatile weather conditions and a lack of access to critical inputs and information, agricultural productivity has stagnated. The compact includes investments in irrigation infrastructure and management systems, climate-resilient agricultural production, upgraded roads to improve market access, and management of natural resources, while seeking to empower entrepreneurs and smallholder producers. In addition to these investments, MCC has supported the Government in rolling out an important reform to the market for fertilizers which has led to higher levels of fertilizer available for Nigerien farmers in 2021 than in any year prior, despite the impacts of Covid-19.

The Government of Niger is committed to carrying out the reforms necessary to improve water and agricultural systems policy and increase private sector participation.

Financials

Financials as of December 31, 2022

Compact Budget

Milestones

  • Entry Into Force:
     January 26, 2018
  • Signed:
     July 29, 2016

Compact Projects

Climate-Resilient Communities

  • $101,622,407Project Total Amount
  • $61,051,716Project Amount Committed
  • $49,010,636Project Amount Expended

The Climate-Resilient Communities (CRC) Project aims to increase incomes for small-scale agriculture- and livestock-dependent families in eligible municipalities in rural Niger. Through two activities, the project will improve crop and livestock productivity, restore natural resources and improve management critical to long-term output, and increase sales of enterprises supported by a grant facility.

  • The Regional Sahel Pastoralism Support (PRAPS) Activity will support herders that move their livestock seasonally along corridors in search of feed and water by developing or rehabilitating drinking points, recovering and restoring public land pastures, and enhancing animal health services including vaccination campaigns and private veterinarian services.
  • The Climate Resilient Agriculture Activity supports sustainable increases in farm productivity and income generation by strengthening the resiliency of farmers and agro-pastoralists to climate shocks through an integrated climate-resilient investment plan. Furthermore, the program also provides eligible farmers and agricultural enterprises with grants to enhance their productive assets.

The project is being implemented in coordination with the World Bank. MCC regions of intervention for this project are: Tillaberi, Dosso, Tahoua and Maradi.

Progress and Achievements to Date

MCA-Niger is implementing the interventions prioritized under the Integrated Climate Resilient Investments Plans (ICRIPS) in 16 communes. The service providers implementing the natural resource management restoration, conservation activities, and farmer training are mobilized with the objective of supporting restoration and conservation of about 5,400 hectares of pasture lands and about 55,000 hectares of agriculture land. Engineering firms are also completing the feasibility studies and designs for small-scale irrigation sites.

Under the Private Veterinarian Services development, 12 new veterinarians have been recruited and trained—including two women veterinarians—along with a support network of technicians including 356 livestock basic care focal points and 56 village promoters for poultry and small ruminant breeding. A further four livestock health border control posts are expected to be built, one in each of the four Compact regions.

Lastly, the design and feasibility studies for 18 livestock markets are being finalized with a view to construct in 2022.

Irrigation and Market Access

  • $263,459,500Project Total Amount
  • $219,849,563Project Amount Committed
  • $179,609,807Project Amount Expended

Through the compact’s Irrigation and Market Access Project (IMAP), MCC is partnering with the Government of Niger to make investments in infrastructure, human capacity, and market and performance-oriented management systems to enable Niger’s farmers to move toward more commercialized irrigated agriculture as the foundation for sustained growth in rural incomes.

Investments in irrigation infrastructure, including the rehabilitation of a large-scale irrigation system in the Tahoua region and the development of small-scale irrigation systems in the Dosso region, will result in increased water availability for farmers during the wet and dry seasons, which will in turn increase crop production and rural income.

Upgraded road networks that are linked to the irrigation perimeters will allow project beneficiaries to more effectively access inputs to improve production, such as fertilizer and seed, and markets to sell their increased crop production.

IMAP is also providing technical training in water and natural resource management, savings, improved production and processing techniques, marketing, literacy, numeracy, nutrition, sanitation, hygiene education and other complementary skills. This training enables farmers, both women and men, in the irrigated perimeters to utilize the water more productively while minimizing health risks associated with using water points for agriculture, livestock and domestic purposes.

In addition, the project is undertaking several major policy reforms including supporting a new national water resource management plan including a detailed assessment of Niger’s groundwater resources, development and adoption of new natural resource and land use management plans for protected areas adjacent to several Compact intervention areas,, a new agricultural statistical capacity reform, and a new national fertilizer distribution strategy to empower the private sector by creating space for competition that will lead to more affordable and higher quality fertilizer that is delivered to farmers when they need it.

Progress and Achievements to Date

To date, a contract to rehabilitate the large-scale irrigated perimeter has been awarded and is currently underway, detailed land tenure inventories have been carried out and land tenure security arrangements are in place, and newly formed water user association and farmer cooperative organizations have been established.

For the small-scale irrigation intervention, initial land tenure inventories and designs and environmental assessments for an initial tranche of small-scale perimeters are in progress. A national groundwater resources survey utilizing remote sensing technology has been completed and a more detailed phase two hydrogeological survey in two targeted watersheds was completed in June 2021.

In addition, a contract to prepare a groundwater model in support of the small-scale irrigation investments has been awarded and mobilized. Detailed designs for road rehabilitation were completed and two road rehabilitation contracts, including performance-based maintenance periods, have been awarded and are underway.

A protected areas management plan for two Ramsar sites and a partial faunal reserve near several Compact interventions was developed by the MCA-Niger in close collaboration with key stakeholders from the Ministry of Environment. This plan was validated by GoN in March 2021 and the MCA-Niger is providing material and technical support through the remainder of the Compact to ensure the long-term viability of the plans’ implementation.

The Roads for Market Access Activity has made significant progress. The contractor for rehabilitation works on National Road 7, National Road 35, and Rural Road Sambura, has fully mobilized and physical works are progressing close to schedule. Compensation under the Resettlement Action Plan is proceeding according to schedule, enabling works to continue.  An initial training workshop on performance-based maintenance and management of these roads was held in June 2021. The Government of Niger continues to meet MCC’s road maintenance reform requirements and the multi-year program for national road network maintenance is operational as of October 2020. 

As of March 21, 2023