For two years, one of our REACH projects has been engaging farmers in the Tillabéri and Maradi regions of Niger in capacity-building initiatives and market-oriented innovations to increase the productivity and resilience of crop-livestock systems. Clarisse Umutoni, the project’s principal investigator, shared stories of their efforts so far and her goals for the remainder of the project.
“Enhancing the productivity and resilience of agro-pastoral systems, and income, food and nutrition security through market-oriented innovations in Niger” will enter its final year this September. The project has taken a holistic and system-thinking approach to improving the livelihood of farmers.
“We think that capacity building is key if we really want to see some change in agriculture or agri-food systems,” Umutoni said.
One of the main ways the project is reaching its objectives has been through agro-pastoral field schools. These field schools aim to foster community-driven innovation and knowledge exchange between farmers with support from the project’s trained facilitators. Four agro-pastoral field schools were established across the target regions to get a range of perspectives. Every week, 20-25 farmers gather to discuss their concerns and suggest solutions based on their needs and the project’s objectives. Each session has a different topic, such as ways to improve livestock feeding practices, techniques to increase crop production, livestock marketing, and more.
Year-round access to quality feed is a challenge. Umutoni explained that introducing highly productive crops can increase feed availability and strengthen feed value chains. Certain tropical forage crops like pigeon pea or Mucuna and dual-purpose crops that produce more grain and biomass than traditional varieties are often unknown or underutilized by farmers. In one study, the adoption rate for these fodder crops was below 20% even in areas where the crops were known. Clearly, more needs to be done to promote production and demand for these feed sources.
Through the field schools, the project has been raising awareness about the value of these fodder crops in producing high-quality biomass. Farmers are encouraged to cultivate them and learn about agronomic practices to increase productivity. In one community, the project started growing maralfalfa (Pennisetum spp., locally known as herbe à éléphant) in a plot where people could pass by and see it grow. Curious farmers asked questions and took cuttings home for planting on their farms.
With similar success, they showed farmers how pigeon pea, a crop known for its drought tolerance, can be used as a valuable fodder source when irrigated during the dry season. Farmers with the necessary resources were encouraged to cultivate pigeon peas during dry periods. One women’s group in Maradi has successfully grown pigeon peas under irrigation during this past dry season.
“We don’t stop at production; we try to work on the whole value chain. They have produced, so what?” Umutoni asked.
By successfully encouraging farmers to cultivate various high-yield crops, Umutoni said farmers can better feed their animals and create reserves for the drier months. Others can increase their income by engaging in fodder businesses, just like the women in the picture. The project has created community fodder business models that strengthen the fodder value chain and create sustainable and resilient income while empowering women in agro-pastoral communities. This was successfully achieved by initiating a business relationship between farmers’ cooperatives in the project sites and the private feed business, Enterprise SALMA.
Another priority has been increasing women’s engagement in agriculture and empowering them to participate in livestock management and market activities through capacity-building initiatives to improve the market value of their livestock. In Niger, women are often the ones caring for small ruminants, yet rarely participate in selling them in the market. The project has started a program that supports them to participate in the selling process directly and control the income earned, thus empowering them
economically. Additionally, the project has created an incentive to produce higher-quality animals. For example, in the project’s sheep and goat fattening initiative, women and youth groups learned how to use locally available and cost-efficient materials to optimize their feeding system and produce higher-quality animals. Every two weeks, when facilitators weigh their animals, the participants would be motivated to continue practicing new techniques and improving their feed. When they see their neighbor doing better than them, the friendly competition spurs them on. This initiative has led to an increased demand for high-quality feed as farmers realize the relationship between quality feed and the quality of animals produced.
Umutoni’s team also intends to promote the consumption of animal-source food, especially goat milk. The project started by raising awareness about goat milk’s benefits for young children’s growth and nutrition. The project encourages goat milk consumption to improve nutrition and promote economic empowerment among vulnerable households. Before launching the initiative in May, they found that only 1 in 5 mothers would give goat milk to their children. Despite some reluctance, people in the community were willing to integrate goat milk into treats like cakes and biscuits. One women’s group in Torodi plans to take the lessons a step further by setting up a business selling goat-based milk products.
People would say to her, “Even if we cannot drink this because the production is not that high, I can make this for my family because you can use one liter of milk to make a hundred biscuits, and kids can come and eat.”
Now, the team is also looking for ways to increase goat milk productivity by 50% and create sustainable demand for goat milk. Increasing goat milk productivity and promoting creative ways of integrating it into the local diet will encourage the consumption of this readily available animal-source food.
There is still more work to be done, Umutoni said. As the project nears the end of its second year, Umutoni said she is excited to take a step back from implementation and look at the data, to get feedback from the farmers and the community on what worked and what could have been done differently. She hopes their efforts will have lasting impacts beyond the project’s lifespan and foster resilient agro-pastoral systems that push Nigerien farmers to greater heights.
By Nadia Kusiima
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