Niger – Food Crisis Response and Emergency Support Programme

The proposed emergency programme is a grant of up to UA 4,000,000 to the Republic of Niger, from non-allocated resources of TSF (Pillar II), in accordance with the African Facility, to assist the population affected by soaring prices and falling food production. The programme proposes to make up for food deficits by supporting irrigated crops with a high market value and appreciable nutritional qualities. It has three (3) components: (i) Improving access to certified seeds and advisory support; (ii) Improving access to fertilizer; (iii) Improved governance and implementation of public policies in the agricultural sector. By providing farmers with improved seeds and fertilisers, the support will enable households to have crops for their food needs. By targeting crops with high market value, such as cowpeas, maize, rice, wheat and potatoes, the emergency support offers households the possibility of selling part of the production to cover their total food needs and thus obtain new income. The production of 45,000 tons of agricultural products will make it possible to increase the supply of food and will undoubtedly contribute to stabilising the prices of these products. In the medium and long term, reforms which will be undertaken will make it possible to establish a sustainable input supply system.