Rain for the Sahel and Sahara

Niger

Niger declared a national state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 27.  The measure was extended for another three months starting July 12.

Challenges and Concerns

The following is excerpted from a summary report by Katherine Kolios, Executive Director of Rain for the Sahel and Sahara.

This has been an especially challenging period in Niger. The country had its first case of coronavirus in late March and the government reacted swiftly - they shut the borders, limited transit within the country, closed schools from Kindergarten through University, and asked people to remain home if possible. The government's reaction was necessary - Niger simply doesn't have the medical infrastructure to deal with a widespread outbreak. Unfortunately, as we've seen in many other countries, the impact of the virus goes well beyond the virus itself. Closing borders and limiting transportation made it harder to access basic necessities. As stockpiles dwindled, prices soared. RAIN's partner communities - poor, remote villages - are some of the hardest hit. 

In April, David Beasley, the head of the World Food Program, announced that we could expect to see famines of "biblical proportions" across the globe. This is what our partner communities feared - not coronavirus, but starvation. In this way, COVID reiterated the importance of communities being able to meet their basic needs locally. Rural and nomadic communities without access to safe water are at significant risk if the coronavirus or another disease infiltrates the population. They are also most vulnerable to price fluctuations as they have limited access to markets and goods. Now, more than ever, our partner communities need support – and Rockflower stepped in to help. 

Adaptation Measures

RAIN’s Field Team, led by Director of Programs Boube Aw, was committed to standing by our partners, especially during these challenging times. The team applied for special dispensation to travel and pivoted from running education and livelihood programs to delivering emergency aid and training. 

In recent weeks, RAIN’s staff:

• Distributed over 40 cartons of soap – over 1,000 extra-large bars of soap. Soap was given to 101 women mentors in the Agadez region of Niger in the villages of Aouderas, Batarmatas, Tinteloust, Etaghas, Eferouane Nord and Soulefet. In turn, these women coordinated distribution to students and families across all 6 villages.

• Established 5 washing stations to serve local middle school students and to decrease their risk of virus transmission as they return to school.

• Delivered awareness building & training seminars on the transmission of COVID-19 - encouraging people to follow the five steps outlined by Niger’s Department of Health (wear a mask, cough or sneeze into your elbow, avoid shaking hands, wash your hands with soap, & remain at home or, if out, retain at least one meter of distance from others).

Emergency Fund

In June, Hassana Alidou, the Former Ambassador from Niger to the United States and Canada spoke about how, in these rural communities, ceasing programs to limit the spread of coronavirus posed a greater risk than the virus itself. With Rockflower’s support, we were able to help supply the resources for our partner communities to continue programming but also to do so safely.

“We believe in the power of these entrepreneurial women, these curious children, and these committed families to build their own futures – but we also know how hard that is to do without support. They are grateful and we are grateful to Rockflower for pitching in to ensure that these basic vital needs are met so that education and opportunity do not need to be put on hold for COVID.”

— Katherine Kolios, Executive Director of RAIN

A Year with RAIN

Rockflower funded Rain for Sahel and Sahara’s Rain Garden. Recently, we received an update on the outcomes of the project in Niger.

Niger is a land-locked country covered predominantly by the Sahara Desert. The Tillabery region is one of the most vulnerable areas in the world to the effects of climate change. With temperature increases expected to be 1.5 times higher than the rest of the world, Niger is faced with higher inter-and intra-annual variability in rainfall, resulting in more frequent and extreme droughts and floods. This significantly impacts Niger’s already fragile soil, crop production, and availability of potable water.

The Tillabery region is where the two rain gardens that provide for 60 women in the cooperative are located. During the 2018-2019 program year, the Nassile and Tagantassou gardens produced over 46,000 lbs. of crops, such as cabbages, carrots, eggplants, green peppers and tomatoes. This enabled the women in the program to feed their families contributing to nutritious and diverse diets across their communities and to sell surplus crops for an additional profit.

The Nassilé gardeners engaged in additional income generating activities to earn 274% of the previous year’s total (594,050 fCFA) – their increased earning power was due in large part to a new cereal bank initiative (271,900 fCFA with stock remaining). The tomato crop was infested by nematodes, soil-dwelling crop pests, but this was remedied by crop rotation. Staff visits for monitoring were limited due to security concerns over the close proximity to Mali.

Gardeners in Tagantassou increased the group’s income to bring in 411% of the previous year’s earnings (150,000 fCFA) to contribute to their economic independence and garden sustainability. The Tagantassou garden faced significant challenges, including an excess of plant debris (stalks of millet, sorghum, and weeds), loss of seedlings due to animal/pest invasion, and insufficient available well water. The gardens were reconstructed, training sessions were held, and an additional well was created. The possibility of bio-briquettes to remedy the excess plant debris is also under discussion after RAIN was informed by Rockflower’s partnership with RUGLI via their Bio-Briquette Project.

Both gardens installed borehole wells over 50m in depth with solar powered submersible pumps. In Nassilé, the well produces 1.5 m3/hour of potable water, and in Tagantassou, the well produces 3.5 m3/hour. Resulting in sufficient water for consumption and reducing time poverty for women.

As risks due to climate change increase, the potential in RAIN’s work is being watched closely. In the 2019-20 program year, RAIN will expand our Sustainable Agriculture program into two new communities, Imboraghan and Betarmatas, including borehole wells, while also expanding existing gardens in Tagantassou and Nassilé.

There is an opportunity to help communities turn subsistence agriculture into a profitable business and build resilience.

Sustainable Agriculture Programming with RAIN

Last year, Rockflower supported RAIN in their goal of achieving two of our five keys, Access to Food and Water and Economic Empowerment. The Sustainable Agriculture programming in Nassilé and Tagantassou was strengthened due to our support, particularly as the need for such a program has increased due to a difficult agricultural year in western Africa.

Nassilé began the next growing season in September by meeting to assess their past revenue and decide on a timeline of implementation. In addition to meeting, they received practical training to enhance their gardening and increase their knowledge of market economics. The garden was started by choosing a high ground settlement to avoid flooding during the heavy seasonal rains. Then the land was cleared so that it could be plowed and levelled. Irrigation was installed resulting in 72 garden beds. October saw the first transplanting of tomato, eggplant and yalo crops. In addition to these crops, the nursery beds also have lettuce, green pepper, cabbage, carrot and onion.

Nassilé

Tagantassou had their first meeting to discuss preparations and the successes they had last year. The women were satisfied with last year’s production, but were constrained due to a lack of well water and caterpillars invading the tomato crop. They plan to utilize a biological treatment to limit or, hopefully, stop the damage. Their second meeting included practical training and a site location for the garden. In October, 18 beds were established with onions, green pepper, lettuce, tomato, cabbage and eggplant.

Tagantassou

Last year, 35 women gardeners from Tagantassou cultivated 1945 m2 of land to harvest 1034Kg of crops which supported over 1,000 Nigerians in the surrounding communities. In both Tagantassou and Nassilé, the knowledge they have gained through practical training has resulted in food security and built livelihoods. For example, in Nassilé total earned income was 198,352 FCFA (~US$345), which is significant as Nigeria’s GDP per capita is approximately US$378.

Due to the women gardeners satisfaction with last year’s production and their enthusiasm for this year’s crop yield, they are looking forward to the next phase of expansion. Two new wells will be dug in spring, one in each community, to increase access to water and enable a significant garden expansion. The expansion of this program will allow more community members to participate and for more of their, and their neighbors’, food security needs to be met.