Niger - Project to Strengthen Resilience of Rural Communities to Food and Nutrition Insecurity in Niger (PRECIS)

The Project to Strengthen Resilience of Rural Communities to Food and Nutrition Insecurity in Niger (PRECIS) is an investment operation that is in line with a programmatic approach co-financed from various resources including those of TSF, OFID, GEF, GCF and IFAD. PRECIS is also in line with the foundations of the 3N (Nigeriens Nourish Nigeriens) Initiative, which aims to protect the people of Niger from hunger and malnutrition, in the long term, and to create conditions enabling them to participate fully in national production and improve their income. It will support small-scale producers by removing production and marketing constraints in the cereal, market gardening, poultry and small livestock production sub-sectors, through two technical components that will have the following effects: (i) diversify production, increase yields and the capacity to adapt to external shocks, particularly climatic shocks, as well as improve the nutrition security of rural producers (including women and young people);and (ii) enhance the value of agro-sylvo-pastoral production surpluses through increased marketing on semi-whole sale markets and the promotion of agricultural entrepreneurship with sustainable integration into the local, regional and national economy. The overall programme will be implemented over a six-year period for a total sum of UA 147.80 million (Bank financing will cover a five-year period). The Bank's contribution to the project financing will amount to UA 25.859 million, provided in the form of a grant from the Transition Support Facility (TSF). More specifically, the Bank's financing will be earmarked for the "water harnessing" and "agricultural entrepreneurship" components and will be incorporated into the operational mechanism of the IFAD-funded Family Farming Development Programme (ProDAF), which will be strengthened. In the context of the response to post-COVID-19, the project plans to carry out a short-and medium-term emergency programme to help people affected by the disease who were obliged to deplete their stocks and savings. This operation will restore the productive base of farmers in the project area who have been severely hit by the pandemic.