A JOINT APPROACH CASE STUDY, NIGER
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CASE STUDY, NIGER: A JOINT APPROACH _______ Photo: Dimitra clubs ensure women’s voices are heard ©JP RWEE, 2021
ABOUT THE Photo: La Journée Internationale de la Femme Rurale
©JP RWEE, 2017
PROGRAMME
The Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment programme (known officially as the ‘Accelerating Progress
towards the Economic Empowerment of Rural Women; JP RWEE) is a global initiative that aims to secure
livelihoods and rights for rural women. The programme is jointly implemented the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), UN Women (UNW), and the
World Food Programme (WFP) and is currently being implemented in seven countries: Ethiopia, Guatemala,
Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Nepal, Niger, and Rwanda.
In Niger, the JP RWEE has been working in four villages in two of the most vulnerable areas of the country:
Dosso and Maradi. The programme in Niger has been hugely successful, thanks in no small part to the ability
of the four agencies to work in line with Niger’s national priorities, and work alongside the local communities.
Furthermore, the ability of the four implementing agencies to leverage their individual strengths
and comparative advantages have strengthened the impact of the project activities and helped
ensure the success of the JP RWEE in Niger.
_______
Maps of Niger with intervention areas highlighted
JP RWEE . NIGER CASE STUDY | 2
WORKING
ALONGSIDE NIGER’S
NATIONAL POLICY
FRAMEWORK
Right from the start, the JP RWEE
contributed to and aligned with
Niger’s National policy framework Photo: ©JP RWEE, 2021
– in particular, with the Ministry
for the Promotion of Women and
the Ministry of Agriculture. The
JP RWEE activities were written in
sync with the country’s national
development strategy priorities
for nutrition, women’s economic
empowerment, and the National
3N Policy (Les Nigériens Nourrissent
les Nigériens; ‘Nigeriens feed
Nigeriens’). Government services
supported the selection of the
regions where the activities are
taking place which has further
helped ensure that the pro-
gramme is aligned with the
Nigerien government priorities.
The collaboration between the
UN agencies and the Nigerien
Photo: La Journée Internationale de la Femme Rurale
national priorities helped ensure ©JP RWEE, 2017
a commitment to the project at
the regional level and establish
a working relationship between
regional services and the
implementing agencies. This has
helped raise the profile and
reputation of the four agencies
within the local community and
alongside local partners.
Photo on the right: JP RWEE activities included
training on animal welfare and breeding
©JP RWEE, 2021
JP RWEE . NIGER CASE STUDY | 3
AGENCY COLLABORATION
The JP RWEE programme is successful because of the others) and built up the support and strength of
ability of each agency to leverage their strengths, bring local farmer organizations, while WFP established
their own expertise, and work together towards a demand for the agricultural outputs through the
common goal. Each agency in the JP RWEE contributes school feeding programmes. The shared expertise
according to their expertise and their mandate: FAO supported the intervention, but also allowed each
provided seeds, IFAD supplied animal husbandry kits organization to learn from one another – and, by
(for example, the expertise and training needed to extension, to use that knowledge elsewhere. For
breed the goats provided from the goat or ruminant example, UNW gained valuable experience and
kits), UNW contributed multifunction platforms (a diesel knowledge in rural agriculture, while IFAD, FAO,
engine with various associated tools that can be used and WFP benefitted from the strengthening of key
to complete household tasks like grinding grains, gender concepts and policy making.
pumping water, or charging electric goods, among
_______
Diagram:
Success was brought about by coherence
of input at all levels.
JP RWEE . NIGER CASE STUDY | 4
FROM THE
GROUND UP
At the time that efforts were
being made to ensure that the
activities aligned with Nigerien
government priorities and
complemented the work of the
participating UN bodies, the
agencies consulted with people
living in the very communities that
the JP RWEE programme sought
to serve. Dimitra clubs – group
meetings developed by the FAO to
promote reflection and dialogue
– created a safe space where
women, men, and young people
could speak about the challenges
they saw in their community.
Gradually, the community members
identified their most pressing
needs, which were then brought to
and discussed first with community
Photo: La Journée Internationale de la Femme Rurale
groups, and then again with the ©JP RWEE, 2017
local authorities.
Using the Dimitra clubs ensured COORDINATION AT
that all levels of the community
were involved in the planning and THE NATIONAL LEVEL
gave equal weight to all voices.
A programme of this scale through the National Steering
Women-only Dimitra groups build
required high-level coordination Committee (NSC; a group that
a sense of community among the
between the UN agencies, the included government ministries),
attendees, while general Dimitra
Nigerien government, and the and the Technical Advisory
groups increase awareness about
communities involved in the Committee (TAC; made up of
the increasing social empowering
programme. This coordination was members from the four agencies
of women in the JP RWEE programme.
run by the National Coordinator, and the service providers). These
This contributed to the success of this
an independent position employed two committees were vital to
programme in Niger.
by the lead agency in Niger, but ensuring the technical quality of
who worked exclusively for the the programme and its coherence
JP RWEE programme. As a with the different strategies.
representative for the entire In addition to project manage-
“The Clubs have opened our programme, the National ment, report writing, and budget
eyes to ourselves and we have Coordinator could ensure that
abandoned early marriage and management responsibilities,
they didn’t have competing
the marriage of girls during the National Coordinator was
priorities for their time from
schooling,’ says one attendee. tasked with ensuring that the
the different implementing
‘Today, in the classes of our NSC and the TAC were clearly and
agencies.
village, there are more girls consistently communicating with
than boys.’ The National Coordinator was each other. This helped ensure
-JP RWEE joint monitoring responsible for coordinating the that the strategies continued to
informant, Dosso, 2020 programme implementation strengthen one another.
JP RWEE . NIGER CASE STUDY | 5
COORDINATION
BRINGS REAL
RESULTS
Since its start in 2012, the Niger
JP RWEE programme directly sought
to feed into the Government of
Niger’s efforts to improve women’s
empowerment, and food and
nutrition security. It managed to
achieve just this, directly reaching
25,609 people, and indirectly
serving 16,000 others – the
Photo: La Journée Internationale de la Femme Rurale
majority of whom were women.
©JP RWEE, 2017
This programme was successful women are provided with goat, around 20% of the population are
because of the coordinated livestock feed, and training on how food insecure.3
efforts on behalf of all parties to to milk, breed, and sell the goats)
collaborate, leverage existing enabled women participating in the At the same time, the process for
strengths, and work in the best programme to reinvest the earnings the production of oils and flour
interests of the communities they garnered directly back into created opportunities for women to
being served. By aligning directly their family’s wellbeing. 1 Women become millers, something that was
within the Nigerien priorities and were able to purchase more previously unheard of. Youth also
completing work that directly diverse food items (42%), pay for get opportunities for new skills,
complemented the efforts of the health services (15%), and provide which can help reduce migration.
participating agencies, the four schooling for their children, At a community level, the revolving
implementing bodies were able to including for uniforms and supplies goat scheme – in which goats from
establish programmes that (8%).2 They have also helped rural the ruminant kits are shared in the
supported both these initiatives women improve their skills in goat community in order to allow other
and rural communities. This in turn rearing, milling, welding, and small women to breed from them –
helped ensure buy-in from regional mechanical repairs. increases incomes and opens up
actors, while coordination with the opportunities for decentralized
communities on the ground The multifunction platforms, mean- agriculture and veterinary services,
ensured that the actions were while, helped lighten household tasks: both of which will increase as
appropriate, realistic, and based on 97% of women interviewed reported livestock husbandry grows. These
need. Finally, coordination a lightening of their workload, while services are now more utilized and
between the FAO, IFAD, UNW, 69% declared having increased active than before, and more
and WFP enabled resource and income, and 54% reported that they motivated to work with farmer
knowledge sharing that benefitted were more aware of the health groups. For their part, the structure
the entire programme. status of their children, having more of the farming groups has increased
By combining technical training, information and awareness of sound confidence, developed more
education, government training, the hygiene practices. savings, and provides access to
building up of procurement and cheaper credit and collective
market systems, and supporting local The multifunction platforms also bargaining power for the purchase
authorities with gender-responsive helped produce products such as of essential items like seeds and
planning and budgeting, this oils or flour, which adds value to farming equipment.
programme did just that. The most products, diversifies diets, and helps The school feeding programmes,
striking results are seen at the bring in more family income. This meanwhile, have increased
institutional and organizational has had an effect on nutrition and nutritional outcomes for children.
level, but this has also led to food security – something that is
tangible results on the ground. vitally important in a country where
For example, ruminant kits (also 3
WFP (2021) Niger Country Brief
referred to as goat kits, in which 1
FAO, IFAD, WFP & UN Women (2018) Niger Annual Report 2017
2
FAO, IFAD, WFP & UN Women (2020) Niger Annual Report 2019 JP RWEE . NIGER CASE STUDY | 6
WHAT THE THE POWER OF The amount of income earned has
not yet brought households out of
COMMUNITIES EMPOWERMENT poverty; however, there is an
HAVE TO SAY
undeniable momentum that will
The economic empowerment of
carry these continued activities
women in rural Niger has had a
forward – and indeed, has already
huge impact on women’s status
spread to other communities.
within the community and individual
Nearby villages have requested the
households. The women supported
through this programme are less goat kits, new participants have
“Before the project I was dependent on their husbands, able been inducted into the revolving
always between my home to contribute to the household goat schemes, and more women
and my parents’ home economy (both financially and in are involved in innovating and
because we always had decision-making) and are reporting approaching their municipality for
arguments with my less tension in the home. support. Most importantly, they are
husband, but since then proud to be independent and want
Significantly, data has also shown
I learned to transform to be even more active – which,
that communities involved in the
products and generate in turn, motivates field teams from
JP RWEE showed a greater resilience
resources, no more delivery partners who can see the
to the impact of COVID restrictions.
hassle. We are in perfect advantage of working together.
Through their participation in
harmony.” programme activities and the
– A female participant in the
coordinated layering of the various
intervention strategies between the SUSTAINABILITY
JP RWEE programme in Niger four participating agencies, the The stakeholders were confident
resources acquired made it possible
that the programme’s behavioral
to meet the household food needs,
changes will continue after cessation
even if there was little surplus to sell.
of support. There is evidence of
Dimitra clubs established social
transformation on the ground,
networks and solidarity. Income
clear social empowerment, and signs
generated with the various collective
of economic empowerment. This
activities provided access to savings
“I was a regular and even and credit, and cash was available
includes the skills acquired to
permanent migrant, but without having to sell animals whose operate and maintain multifunctional
when I learned modern price had fallen. Additionally, an platforms, knowledge, and resource
cultivation techniques with increase in cereals helped reduce sharing in relation to the goat kits.
the farmer field school, the impact of the pandemic on There is also a sense of collective
I stopped the migration and household food supplies. assertion.
stayed because I earn more
than when I work else- Photo:
©JP RWEE, 2021
where. In the same field,
I am harvesting more than
ten times the equivalent of
my pre-project crops. Also,
with the restoration of
degraded land, I manage to
cultivate land that my
parents and grandparents
were not able to develop
for me.”
– A male participant in the
JP RWEE programme in Niger
JP RWEE . NIGER CASE STUDY | 7
This case study has been produced by Mokoro Ltd as part of the Global End-term Evaluation of the Joint Programme on Accelerating Progress towards the Economic Empowerment of Rural Women in Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Nepal, Niger and Rwanda from 2014 to 2020. _______ Photo: La Journée Internationale de la Femme Rurale ©JP RWEE, 2017 Edited by: Lucy Bamforth Designed by: Hiba Hajj Omar ©JP RWEE, 2021 Mokoro are an international development consultancy linking research, policy and action. For more information: Mokoro.co.uk
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