The Context

Majority of people in Niger depend on the agricultural economy for their livelihood. Subsistence farming, livestock and informal trade in other crops dominate the country’s agriculture sector which is experiencing land degradation, desertification, and variable rainfalls patterns. According to USAID, frequent droughts in the region often damage crop yields, leading to food shortages in the country. Chronic food insecurity and a high prevalence of infectious diseases have led Niger to record some of the highest malnutrition and mortality rates in the world. According to United Nations estimates, nearly 3.4 million Nigeriens are chronically food insecure. More than 40 percent of children under 5 years of age suffer from chronic malnutrition and acute malnutrition rates regularly exceed the World Health Organization’s threshold of serious concern of ten percent.

The completion of the World Bank-funded National Agricultural Research Project in 1998 plunged Niger’s agricultural research into severe financial crisis lasting more than a decade. Since 2009, agricultural research capacity and investment levels have gradually begun to recover, in large part due to another World Bank loan-funded project, WAAPP, which is intended to support the country’s livestock research; various capacity building initiatives; and the generation, dissemination, and adoption of new technologies.

CORAF’s work in Niger

CORAF works hand-in-hand with the national agricultural research systems of Niger as well as the Regional Center of Specialization Livestock to devise science and technology solutions to enable agriculture actors to deal with some of these challenges.

Agriculture Research and Development in Niger

The Niger National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRAN) is Niger’s principal agricultural research agency. Administered by the Ministry of Agriculture, INRAN conducts research on crops, livestock, natural resources, socioeconomics, and agricultural engineering.

The National Agricultural Research Institute of Niger (INRAN) was created in 1975, and it is currently placed under the Ministry of Agricultural Development.