NIGER Annual Report 2015

Drylands Development Programme (DRYDEV)

A Farmer Led Programme to Enhance Water Management, Food Security, and Rural Economic Development in the Drylands of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Ethiopia, and Kenya

***March 2016***

Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY -1pg ...... 3 1. INTRODUCTION- 1pg ...... 4 2. Progress towards sub-outcomes...... 4 3. ASSESSMENT OF PROGRESS TOWARDS OUTPUTS ...... 5 3.2.1 Work Package 1 Sub catchment level NRM ...... 5 3.2.2 Work Package 2 On-farm water & soil management ...... 10 3.2.3 Work Package 3 Agricultural commodity production ...... 13 3.2.4 Work Package 4 Enhancing market access ...... 13 3.2.5 Work Package5 Financial services linking ...... 15 3.2.6 Work Package 6 Local governance & institutional strengthening ...... 16 3.2.7 Work Package 7 Planning, M&E, and scaling of learning ...... 17 3.2.8 Work Package 8 Policy analysis & influencing ...... 17 4. Key Challenges and Constraints -1/2pg ...... 17 5. Lessons learned ...... 18

2 DRYDEV NIGER NARRATIVE REPORT 2015

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY -1pg

This report covers the period from April to December 2015. The period was marked by the following major events: • Drafting and approval of country programs for 2015-16 (ICRAF and partners) • Revision of master agreements to cover 2015-18 (ICRAF and CARE Niger) • Contracting between CARE Niger and six partner organizations of Niger country team • Introduction of Options by Context approach, accompanied by impact monitoring on external sites (ICRAF) • Introduction of sub catchments into the operational model by ICRAF, adapted in Niger to take into consideration the existing village clusters created within the Innovation Platforms • Finalization of Sub-outcome and output indicators for impact measurement and program progress (ICRAF and partners) • Formalization of five Innovation Platforms in program intervention zones (Municipalities) • Baseline study piloted by ICRAF and implemented by DRYDEV Niger PMEL specialist • Visioning and Community Action Planning adopted across DRYDEV countries by ICRAF, based in part on DRYDEV Niger’s experiences during the inception year • Community Action Plans developed with Innovation Platforms for 2015-16 (DRYDEV Niger country team).

This is the first annual report consisting of a narrative section (this document) and a PMEL Excel sheet (attached). Discrepancies between the two documents due to varying understandings of definitions of activities and indicators are likely to exist, some have been detected and attempts have been made to reconcile the differences where possible. Most of the sub outcome indicators have not been measured. Where possible a qualitative appreciation is given for these indicators in this document.

The year’s activities have continued to develop and refine the Bottom-up model based on multi stakeholder Innovation Platforms to ensure sustainability and replicability while facilitating the Options by Context approach. The strength of the model has been amply demonstrated in the Aguié municipality where communities began implementation of their Community Action Plans by voluntarily working together to restore collective pasture areas, with over 2500 people participating. Before DRYDEV this type of collective action was unheard of. DRYDEV has shown that a Bottom up approach can produce a re-awakening of solidarity between communities. A spirit of competition is popularising the approach and drawing new adherents faster than they can be assimilated. Recognition of its power to transform community development is growing. Current membership in the five Innovation Platforms is over 6000. DRYDEV has up to now refrained from offering pecuniary incentives for participation in platform activities. Using a co-learning approach DRYDEV and the platforms will propose and test incentive levels in 2016 that will not compromise sustainability or replicability.

Nevertheless hurdles remain. Platforms lack organisational capacity to manage complex work programs and resources with efficiency and transparency. DRYDEV Niger is well aware of these challenges and 2016 will see DRYDEV support for institutional development plans to build capacity based on the needs of each platform. Improvement in information collection for monitoring purposes is also required. Setting up a communication system to facilitate intra and inter platform exchanges is another priority for 2016. These improvements will lead to better governance, greater efficiency, and facilitate sharing and learning.

3 1. INTRODUCTION- 1pg -Short introduction to program and implementation arrangements 1/2pg

The Drylands Development Programme “A Farmer Led Programme to Enhance Water Management, Food Security, and Rural Economic Development in the Drylands of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Ethiopia, and Kenya” (DRYDEV) is a five year program running from 2013 to 2018. It is piloted by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) headquartered in Nairobi Kenya and covers the five aforementioned countries in West and East Africa. It is funded by the Directorate General for International Cooperation (DGIS) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.

In Niger the program is implemented in five municipalities by a consortium of seven partners (1 lead and 6 implementing partners), selected on the basis of their commitment and their specific abilities and skills, called the "Country Team". The team includes CARE Niger, Oxfam Novib, World Vision Niger, Karkara, AREN, NGO RAIL, and CRESA (University of Niamey). Each partner is responsible for implementation of field level activities within one municipality, excepting CARE and Oxfam who assure the development and harmonization of the thematic approaches. CARE Niger is the lead organization designated by ICRAF for the Niger Country Team, with responsibility for coordination, management and quality assurance of the programme in Niger.

Implementing partner staff include one focal point to represent each implementing partner, one field facilitator per implementing partner with responsibility for one municipality, specialised technical staff for promotion of FMNR and development of innovations/innovators, and various support staff including drivers, accountants and high level staff with part time status.

The lead partner (CARE) staffs include a program coordinator, a deputy program coordinator, an MEL specialist, an accountant, and a driver on full time status. Other support staffs have part time status.

2. Progress towards sub-outcomes (Give summary overview of progress towards outcome 1 pg)

Sub-Outcome • Indicator Progress Sub-Outcome 1: • Proportion of sub-catchments covered by • An Innovation Platform initiates Appropriate landscape/watershed level expected ‘foot prints’ of the sub-catchment pasture management activities in NRM initiatives undertaken level NRM initiatives one municipality (Aguié) Sub-Outcome 2: • # of farmers practicing promoted practices on- • (Farmer witness): FMNR is creating Improved & climate smart on-farm farm water and soil management practices agroforestry parks where nothing water & soil management practiced existed previously • Farmers are increasingly aware that protected farm trees belong to them rather than the forest service in Malbaza municipality • There is an emergence of new local expertise in FMNR and composting • Sub-Outcome 3: • # of farmers practicing promoted production • Not evaluated at present Improved & inclusive & climate-smart practices production options pursued Sub-Outcome 4: • # of men and women in HH participating in • Demonstrated increase in mastery Increased participation of male, female targeted value chains of enterprise planning for NTFPs. and disadvantaged farmers in lucrative • Entrepreneurs participate in value chains financing the start up of their enterprises. • Peer to peer training of entrepreneurs. • Sub-Outcome 5: • # and value of loans accessed by men & women • 115 loans totaling 11,400 USD

4 Increased numbers of famers linked to in HH in last 12 months credit & financial services • # of male & female HH members provided with • 67, not disagregated business training, advice, and/or mentoring support in last 12 months Sub-Outcome 6: • Extent to which targeted local duty bearers and • Innovation Platforms are Capacity of local duty-bearers and institutions have skills, knowledge, resources, appropriating the procedures for farmer organizations developed and/or and/or motivation to fulfill functions natural resources related conflict ‘duty fulfillment’ pressure applied management and prevention • Innovation Platform members are increasingly aware and motivated to implement activities based on voluntary participation Sub-Outcome 7: • #of identified ‘scaling stakeholder’ actively • CARE is promoting Innovation Key ‘scaling stakeholders’ identified, promoting uptake of evidence and learning Platforms in a Norwegian project find evidence/learning credible and generated under the programme. with the National Ag research relevant, and actively promote its institute (INRAN), and in a USAID uptake project in Mali. Sub-Outcome 8: • # of targeted policy makers and other policy • Local authorities have demonstrated Awareness raised and attitudes relevant stakeholders meaningfully seeking to willingness to improve their improved among key policy makers/ bring about targeted policy and institutional management of conflicts between other stakeholders, resulting in their reforms farmers and herders with support taking desired action from Innovation Platforms who help to create an informed citizenry

3. ASSESSMENT OF PROGRESS TOWARDS OUTPUTS

3.1 Output tracking (Excel sheet) For the major activities undertaken during the reporting period, what outputs have been generated or developed and how many farmers were reached by the intervention

Cf. Output tracking sheet link here. PMEL_NIGER 2015.xlsx

3.2 What activities were undertaken and what outputs were realized 10 pg. (Present per Key activity area; Provide narrative description of the activities providing numbers of people reached, inputs provided and training conducted; Illustrate with pictures, tables and graphs)

3.2.1 Work Package 1 Sub catchment level NRM

Activity Area 1.1: Sub catchment management plan development

Identification of sub catchments. The principal activity implemented in this Activity Area was unplanned: the identification of 31 sub catchments across the five municipalities to satisfy ICRAF requirements to organize field implementation on a sub catchment basis1. The initial implementation strategy in Niger was based on “village clusters” that were identified by the communities as part of the Innovation Platform organizational configuration, providing a solid social basis for collective planning and action. Through detailed mapping of each municipality it was possible to identify sub catchments that correspond with each village cluster albeit with minor modifications. This alignment of the village clusters with their corresponding sub catchments should reinforce the implementation strategy from both the bio-physical and social perspective. DRYDEV support for this activity included contracting the mapping service. The remaining work was done by the MEL specialist.

1 Similar slope, within or outside the sub catchment (catchment delineation 1000 km2, subcatchment 50km2- 200km2, management sites 2ha-20ha, similar soils, similar annual rainfall (400mm-800 mm), similar population density, and poverty levels.

5 Further activity in this Activity Area involved the characterization of the sub catchments as part of the baseline study. This work remained unfinished at the end of the year and will be completed in early 2016. The lack of physical or administrative boundaries around the sub catchments may compromise the viability of some of the information, such as the number of domestic cattle within the area. This work is being performed by the local technical services with assistance from DRYDEV.

Activity Area 1.2: Capacity development in sub catchment management

Conflict prevention and management foras. With financial and technical support from DRYDEV, the Innovation Platforms in Malbaza and Aguié municipalities organized two fora on the management and prevention of natural resources related conflicts.

The forum saw the participation of all stakeholders involved in the management of natural resources including administrative and traditional authorities, representatives of the Lands Commissions (COFOB, COFOCOM, COFODEP), the Regional Permanent Secretariat of the Code Rural, farmer and rancher organizations, members of the Innovation Platform, local elected officials, women leaders, field partners, the RJM, local radio etc. Participation is resumed in the following table.

Table 1: Conflict forum participation 2015

Municipality Participants

Men Women Total

Malbaza 193 7 200

Aguié 66 20 86

Activity Area 1.3: Rehabilitation / Restoration of degraded areas and Activity Area 1.4: Water buffering promotion

Identify sylvo-pastoral areas for restoration and marking. Upon completing their Community Action Plan, the Innovation Platform in Aguié initiated restoration work on degraded pasture lands as the first item of business. At four sites identified by the Innovation Platform farmers equipped with dabas, hoes, and their hands were mobilized for the destruction of Sida cordifolia on about 60 hectares of pasture areas and cattle corridors.

In total 2506 people participated in the work, including 1,276 women. This is equivalent to an investment in man / days of the order of 13,031,200 CFA ($ 22,087) mobilized by platform and

A strong community mobilisation of both men and women! (Photo credit: Ali Dabey Boubacar, AREN - MARADI 6

village cluster leaders with the material and financial support of village leaders. Their action demonstrates the interest they attach to the way the platform provides a support mechanism for their collective vision. The Aguié Innovation Platform has shown that it is possible to break with the “wait and see” mentality that has become dominate when projects are expected to provide the support for activities.

It should be noted that DRYDEV provided no material support to this activity. Rather, in an process of “co-learning” the programme and Innovation Platform together performed a rapid “post-action review” of the activity to suggest what kind of programme support should be provided in the future to sustain such collective actions without stifling the platform’s initiative, or becoming dependant on outside support. The suggested support will be tested with the five Platforms in 2016.

Identification of sites for rehabilitation/restoration and water buffering promotion. DRYDEV provided technical and financial support to the Innovation Platforms2 of Droum, Aguié and Malbaza municipalities to carry out site visits. The visits served to identify collective lands for possible rehabilitation/restoration, and collective water resources for possible water buffering promotion within the platform Community Action Plans. Targeted sites included: collective pasture areas, collective cattle corridors, and collective ponds. Pasture and cattle corridors are confronted with two principal problems: encroachment from farm fields, and occupation by the invasive weed Sida cordifolia. Ponds are generally confronted with silting and conflicting or non-inclusive use of the water and surrounding lands. A valley running through the Droum municipality with significant potential for irrigated agriculture was also visited. Though the valley land is privately owned, the valley requires collective action to improve sustainable access to water for irrigation.

Table 2. Sites identified for rehabilitation and/or restoration Municipality # Pasture areas; (ha) # Cattle corridors; (ha) # Ponds; (ha) Malbaza 23 50 80 Aguié 9 (678ha) 30 (214ha) 41 (70ha) Droum 2 7 3

The following pictures illustrate some of the sites visited.

2 (including local technical services and authorities)

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Multiple use pond in Droum

Cattle corridor in Droum, also serves as a road track

Cattle corridor boundary marker, over run by a field

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Irrigated gardening along the Droum valley

Sugar cane production at a large pond in Droum

A semi-permanent pond covered with aquatic weeds, Aguié

9 Promotion of improved wood stoves. Malbaza municipality promoted the construction and use of improved wood stoves as a complementary activity to improved natural resources management. The activity was implemented with DRYDEV travel support to the municipal environmental agent, in each of the five village clusters. Several phases were implemented leading to the identification of volunteers to build and test the woodstoves. Participation is resumed in the following table.

Table 3: Promotion of improved wood stoves Activity Cluster and villages Farmers reached/trained men women Total Village assembly for 5 (21 villages) 146 114 260 awareness raising Training for building 2 (7villages) 12 7 19 improved stove

Start of construction End of construction

3.2.2 Work Package 2 On-farm water & soil management

Activity Area 2.1: On-farm rain water harvesting

Promote construction of water harvesting works on farm fields. Farmers in the Malbaza municipality undertook the construction of Zaï (Tassa) on their farm fields after seeing demonstrations during village assemblies with programme staff and platform leaders. The activity was centered in the North Maggia sub catchment where soils are very stony and fields must be cleared of stone before planting. Presumably the construction of the Zaï is incorporated in the stone removal process, but this remains to be verified. The work was entirely supported by the farmers. Farmers state that the agronomic impact of the Zaï is sufficient to allow them to cover a good part of their food needs even in a year with below normal rainfall. Yield measurements were not made by the programme however, due in part to the limited financial means at the time. The number of participants was not reported during this period. DRYDEV support was limited to travel costs for Platform members and programme staff participating in the initial demonstrations.

10 Un-treated soils

Zaï (Tassa), Mars 2015 Barren soil treated with Zaï + organic fertiliser, Aug 2015

Activity Area 2.2: Agroforestry and FMNR

Capacity building and support for FMNR protection committees and Promotion of FMNR on farm fields. DRYDEV staff in Torodi, Malbaza and Dogon Kiria municipalities developed FMNR activities with their Innovation Platforms including training on FMNR techniques for farmers, and creation/training for FMNR surveillance committee members at village and Innovation Platform levels. The surveillance committees monitor the use of the community’s natural resources in accordance with locally adopted by-laws that stipulate how trees should be managed. The three municipalities also implemented training on how to manage a community based organisation, including financial management. This training is included in Work Package 6 activities. DRYDEV support for these activities included financial support for travel, lodging and/or food for participants.

The following table gives an (incomplete) idea of the participation in FMNR activities in the three municipalities. Information for Dogon Kiria is still pending, as are adoption numbers for Torodi.

Table 4: FMNR surveillance committees and FMNR adoption: Malbaza, Torodi, and Dogon Kiria municipalities Municipality Committee officers # Fields with FMNR # FMNR practice Men Women Total adoptors Malbaza 86 25 111 332 350 Torodi 148 65 213 Not evaluated Not evaluated Dogon Kiria Not evaluated Not evaluated Not evaluated Not evaluated TOTAL 234 90 324 332 350

Start of pruning Pruning with a hachet Final marking with paint

01/04/2015- Malbaza

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Activity Area 2.3: Soil fertility enhancement

Promote soil fertilization by addition of organic manure / compost and mineral fertiliser. DRYDEV provided technical and financial support to promote improved composting in Malbaza, Aguié and Droum municipalities. Actions in Malbaza and Aguié were conducted jointly by DRYDEV staff and Innovation Platform members (including local expertise and local technical services). Malbaza conducted training of trainers, while Aguié conducted joint monitoring missions to observe adoption levels resulting from 2014 training sessions. In Droum the Innovation Platform organised and conducted peer to peer training with only DRYDEV financial support, demonstrating their growing technical and organisational capacity to plan and conduct activities autonomously.

Target audiences for training in Malbaza and Droum included farmer organisations, individual farmers, and farmer-experts from other areas of expertise to encourage inter thematic exchanges. The techniques of improved composting include using a variety of underutilised sources of organic matter including chaff, straw, weeds, etc., making use of alternate layers to maximize the available nitrogen, and using micro dosing of mineral fertiliser.

The following table gives an idea of the amplitude of the activity in the three municipalities. Only Malbaza included “Youth” as a category when monitoring participation.

Table 6. Participation in improved composting activities: training and adoption # of trainees or adopters Municipality Activity # Villages # Men #Women # Youth Malbaza Training of trainers 15 82 15 8 Aguié Monitoring of adopters 29 201 120 Not evaluated Droum Peer to peer training 22 652 26 Not evaluated

Peer to peer training organized and conducted by the Innovation Platform in Droum

12 3.2.3 Work Package 3 Agricultural commodity production

Activity Area 3.1: Agro-sylvo-pastoral systems development

Promote sharing and diffusion of local knowledge on best practices. DRYDEV provided financial support to the Droum Innovation Platform to organize five days of training of trainers on the use alternative methods of fighting against crop pests. The training covered four alternative methods of crop protection using: neem seed extract, hot pepper and soap, tobacco and soap, and kerosene and soap. The techniques are of particular interest in the zone because of the importance of dry season gardening along the valleys.

The training was organized by the Innovation Platform with assistance from an agent specialized in crop protection from the departmental agricultural service. Each of the five village clusters received one day of training targeting two local experts from each village within the cluster. A total of 40 villages were reached, and a total of 73 local experts were trained as trainers during the five days. The trainers will thereafter duplicate the training in their own villages.

Activity Area 3.2: Sustainable input supply system establishment

Build capacity to create and implement supply plans for 30 clusters in 5 municipalities. In late 2015 a joint DRYDEV mission was made to the Droum municipality to test a proposed methodology to develop input supply plans for farmers. Participants included DRYDEV facilitators, local technical services and Innovation Platform representatives from each of the five programme municipalities, several DRYDEV focal points, and the DRYDEV coordinator and deputy coordinator. The Droum mayor and several of his staff also participated actively.

The mission endeavored to help the Droum Innovation Platform i) begin the process of elaborating input supply plans and help local actors identify input needs and needs for financing to ensure proper functioning of the plan, ii) help local actors to analyze supply mechanisms for adequacy, efficiency and feasibility, iii) identify needs to reinforce or create new VSLA groups, iv) analyze the functioning of existing VSLA groups and their credit needs, v) identify suppliers and MFIs working in the area and their modalities of operation.

The methodology will be subsequently introduced in the other municipalities by their respective DRYDEV/ Innovation Platform teams.

3.2.4 Work Package 4 Enhancing market access

Activity Area 4.2: Value chain group establishment and strengthening

Train 30 existing Villages Tree Enterprises in technical, managerial & marketing skills. The Market Analysis Approach (MAD) developed by the FAO for non-timber forest products (NTFPs) was introduced to 125 potential farmer-entrepreneurs in 30 villages in the Droum, Aguié and Torodi municipalities. DRYDEV specialised staff organised training sessions in each of the municipalities the initiate the entrepreneurs to simple planning methods necessary to create a Village Tree Enterprise.

Each Village Tree Enterprise is expected to target a specific NTFP for development and include one or more farmers with an interest in that product. Many farmers indeed had previous experience in NTFPs. Further training provided a smaller number of designated (literate) farmers with the knowhow to conduct market surveys to determine the economic profitability of various products

13 within their local context. Results of the surveys guided the farmers in the choice of an NTFP for development within a Village Tree Enterprise. Subsequent workshops developed the farmers’ capacity to create Enterprise Development Plans for their selected products. A total of 95 Enterprise Development Plans were in development in June 2015 across the five municipalities.

Table 7. Elaboration of Enterprise Development Plans in 3 municipalities, June 2015 Municipality # of Plans finished # of Plans in Total # of Plans progress Droum 17 13 30 Aguié 15 17 32 Torodi 6 27 33 TOTAL 38 57 95

With support from DRYDEV, further workshops with each emerging Village Tree Enterprise in Droum municipality reached 109 farmer-entrepreneurs (85 men and 24 women) and resulted in finalisation of four Enterprise Development Plans targeting the production of dried Baobab leaves. Three action plans for 2016 were also developed. The annual gross income for the four enterprises was estimated at 7.182.000 Fcfa (12,170 USD). The workshops will be replicated in the remaining municipalities in 2016.

Farmer-enumerators carrying out NTFP market surveys

The Week of Agricultural Entrepreneurship (SEMEA). AgriProFocus organised a week-long event in Niamey that brought together farmer- entrepreneurs and other agricultural value chain actors including entrepreneurs, business persons, financial institutions, policy makers, etc. DRYDEV covered the costs for attendance by 18 representatives from all five Innovation Platforms, including a number of Village Tree Enterprises and women’s groups active in agro- transformation. The DRYDEV participants animated a stand with visual aids produced by country team partners to present DRYDEV and their activities and products to the public, and The Droum platform president’s seed varieties on display at the SEMEA 14 exchange with other participants and invited personalities. Their products included improved seed varieties, several formulas of nutritional food supplements for children, dried Baobab leaves, gum Arabic, oil and soap made Balanites seeds, sprayer pumps and nut crackers, etc.

Platform representatives present DRYDEV and their activities to the public at the SEMEA

Activity Area 4.3. Market information system strengthening

Design, install and test a market information system. A consultancy contracted by DRYDEV with Practical Action Consulting produced an action plan for 2016 DRYDEV work in WP 4 to improve inter- and intra-Platform communications and provide improved access to market information. Representatives from all five Innovation Platforms participated in two days of exchanges with the consultants to provide clear guidance on platforms’ needs and the possible solutions. The follow-up consultancy is planned/budgeted for 2016 to install the system. It was not possible to harmonize the work with Mali and Burkina country teams, but many of the proposed actions are replicable in their cases.

3.2.5 Work Package5 Financial services linking

Activity Area 5.2: Link actors to financial services providers

Facilitation for access to adequate financial products. DRYDEV supported costs to organise meetings between representatives from the two principle Micro Finance Institutions working in the Droum municipality. 67 farmers (61 men, 6 women) met separately with Yarda and ASUSU S.A. and discussed procedures to open an account, group credit for Income Generating activities and dry season gardening, warrantage, repayment schedules, and interest rates. Problems resulting from poor follow-up by ASUSU of the warrantage credit scheme in the previous exercise led most participants to favour developing new relations with Yarda.

Warrantage. Facilitation from DRYDEV resulted in 115 farmers in seven farmer organisations from the Malbaza Innovation Platform taking warrantage loans in 2015, for a total amount of 6,724,765 Fcfa (11,400 USD). DRYDEV purchased and distributed 490 sacks PICS to the five platforms to secure warrantage stocks from insect damage. However the below average production in 2015 prevented most farmers from taking warrantage loans this year.

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3.2.6 Work Package 6 Local governance & institutional strengthening

Activity Area 6.1: Innovation Platform (IP) promotion

Establish, implement and evaluate annual institutional development plans and action plans. Dogon Kiria municipality completed the formal set-up of their Innovation Platform. This activity, supported by DRYDEV, involved conducting a visioning workshop and electing the platform officers. Six village clusters comprised of 196 members (165 men, 31 women) from 33 villages were involved. 22 officers and cluster representatives were elected to the municipal level platform executive body, including 2 women.

All Innovation Platforms excepting Dogon Kiria held planning workshops supported by DREDEV at the village cluster and municipal levels to generate their 2015-16 Community Action Plans for each platform. Activities were planned at the cluster level, though some activities such as peer to peer training will be implemented at the village level. Participation in the planning sessions included platform representatives, local technical services, local officials, and traditional authorities.

The Aguié planning sessions drew significant interest from the communities, with 222 people participating in the sessions. This interest translated into action immediately thereafter when two village clusters organized massive collective work sessions clearing Sida cordifolia from their pasture areas and cattle corridors (cf. Activity Area 1.3).

Training and support for Innovation Platforms in developing value chains (inputs, marketing, etc.), and animation of platforms. 123 members (99 men, 24 women) of the Torodi, Dogon Kiria and Malbaza platforms received training supported by DRYDEV in management of community associations, including management of financial resources.

Further training was provided to all five platforms on the roles and responsibilities of platform actors, and mechanisms for monitoring and feedback of information. 100 people participated across the five platforms, including platform active members (farmers and innovators) and designated members (local authorities and technical services) as well as other local actors (traditional leaders, business persons, transport services, etc.).

Training and support for Innovation Platforms in the identification, characterization, selection of farmers' innovations. DRYDEV supported three day workshops with the Innovation Platforms in each of the five municipalities to : i) Characterize the existing selection of innovations (identified in 2014) and ii) Define the actions to be undertaken by all stakeholders to develop and exploit the value of each of the innovations.

Results from these exercises also helped define the learning priorities for the platforms, that will contribute to the development of the Planned Comparisons activities in 2016.

132 members (105 men, 29 women) were involved in the five workshops.

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3.2.7 Work Package 7 Planning, M&E, and scaling of learning

Activity Area 7.1 : Program Monitoring

Conduct MPAT assessment in 5 municipalities. The MPAT assessment was shelved in favour of putting those resources towards the baseline study. This was necessary to constitute a large enough sample of households that would allow statistically significant comparisons between municipalities.

Farmer intervention reach tracking. A DRYDEV staff workshop held at the start of the year informed the staff on how operational monitoring of farmer interventions would be implemented. However disruptions to funding during the year made for fewer interventions. Nevertheless municipal facilitators and partner staff made field visits that usually included observation of ongoing activities along with more formal activities such as training and workshops.

Mapping impact groups and zones. Preparation of the country programme for 2015-18 included the mapping of 33 sub catchments for intervention in the five municipalities. Approximately half of these sub catchments covered existing village clusters established within the platform’s organizational configurations, and the remainder constitute new intervention zones where village clusters will be identified for inclusion in the platforms and action planning in 2016. As mentioned in WP 1, DRYDEV partners called upon local technical services to help collect data to characterize the new sub catchments, as part of the baseline study. This work remained unfinished at the end of the year after encountering difficulties in how to find certain data for which records do not exist eg. number of cattle per sub catchment.

3.2.8 Work Package 8 Policy analysis & influencing No specific activities were undertaken in this WP. N.B. The conflict management forums described under WP 1 have had the effect of positively influencing application of policy concerning the management and prevent of natural resources related conflicts.

4. Key Challenges and Constraints -1/2pg 4.1 List down any key constraints that you faced in this reporting period; what you did do to overcome them?  Delay in approval of the Country Programme and acquisition of funding resulted in some scepticism about the programme’s future among farmers, and reprogramming of 2015 activities for 2016. Overall this is no longer considered a problem since funding was secured.  The mobilization of entire communities with local resources by the Aguié Innovation Platform raises the question of how to best support and sustain platform initiatives without introducing reliance on project resources. DRYDEV Niger is discussing the question with the platform to define levels of DRYDEV financial support. Speeding up implementation of the CAP will further demonstrate the Platform’s utility which should reinforce its capacity to mobilize local resources that complement and replace DRYDEV resources in the medium term.  Organizational and financial management capacity in the Innovation Platforms has quickly become a constraint as they undertake activities. Pressure to accept new membership from neighboring villages demonstrates the perceived utility of the platforms, but creates problems of how to integrate the new members in ongoing activity planning. DRYDEV funds and locally generated resources must be managed efficiently and transparently to assure the

17 platforms’ credibility and durability. This constraint was anticipated; training has been initiated and will be pursued in 2016. Ensuring adequate platform governance is a major preoccupation for DRYDEV Niger.  At least one platform has raised the question of whether establishing control sites where no activities will be implemented will undermine the platform’s credibility or disorient stakeholders. However no concrete evidence of such has yet appeared.  Access to water has been cited as a constraint for making compost in several municipalities. The solution is to initiate the composting as soon as possible near the end of the rainy season when surface water is still available.

4.2 List key opportunities you discovered and how the program can capitalize on them

The key to effective appropriation of the Innovation Platforms appears to be promoting leadership within the platforms at the various levels e.g. communal, cluster, and community. To this end DRYDEV will support platform leadership to take the lead in initiating/implementing platform institutional support plans (WP 6).

Platforms are demonstrating an eagerness to “get to work” as they increasingly understand that this project is different from others in that it endeavors to support their agenda, rather than the reverse. The potential to multiply impact through platforms’ governance of food and water security and economic development issues is beginning to be grasped by CARE and other partners.

5. Lessons learned 5.1 List down any lesson you have learned during this reporting period. What changed/or is to change because of the lesson learned. The lessons learned should cover-1/2pg

• Working with Partners  It has been demonstrated to be a very useful learning experience for the Country Team to initiate new processes with all partners together in one municipality as means of testing and appropriating intervention strategies and facilitation approaches that will then be deployed in the other municipalities.  The catalytic role played by the various partners involved in the implementation of the program, supported by the consortium of national and international NGOs, and their contribution in terms of capacity building, methodological notes and sharing the results of initiatives, confirm that the adoption of a multi-actor approach helps make local strategies for adaptation more sustainable, and contributes to greater dissemination of practices. • Functional involvement of stakeholders  Despite the relatively short duration of its implementation, the multi-stakeholder communal platform has an important demonstration effect in terms of developing a methodological approach that highlights and enhances its leadership and innovation capabilities, and participatory governance.  The CAP has revealed to both DRYDEV partners and the communities that the latter have considerable local capacity (knowledge, key actors, and organizational skills) that put solutions to many of their problems within their grasp. What has been lacking is limited access to and exchange of information, leadership and organizational space. The Innovation Platforms provide an excellent space to exchange information, identify actions, and develop planning-organization of community efforts, while project

18 facilitation provides a catalyst for emerging leadership among Platform members to develop their capacity and solidify their roles.  It is clearly possible to carry out development activities through volunteering of time and resources by stakeholders, but it is equally important that all stakeholders participate.

• Good Practice/Innovation  Full involvement of rural communities by empowering them to take ownership of the simple methods of identification and exploitation of their own resources (knowledge and local talent, personal contributions, etc.), contributes more to the sustainability of action development.  It is imperative to constantly keep in mind and insist on the DRYDEV country team's role as facilitator and catalyst of the Platform, and implicate Platform members (cluster delegates, executive officers, technical services, and municipal authorities as appropriate) in all organizational aspects of planning and evaluation meetings, surveys, exchange visits, etc. It was observed that the "natural" tendency of development actors (project personnel, technical services and authorities) is to usurp the role of the Platform, especially at these early stages where the Platform is on a steep learning curve. This also implies that the DRYDEV team must improve their skills and confidence in facilitation.

• Project/programme Management  CAPs will be better adapted to local realities by organizing the planning and evaluation of activities by agricultural season rather than on an annual basis.  DRYDEV Niger has set up a mutual learning process producing value from the stock of knowledge and practices generated by people locally. Identifying, analyzing, enhancing and sharing this knowledge requires appropriate methods and tools.  Facilitating the community visioning and action planning (CAP) with communities has revealed important relevant contextual information related to water resources management that was not discovered during the initial characterization studies, demonstrating the limited usefulness and necessity of such studies when a CAP approach is used. The main usefulness of the characterization studies would appear to be to make comparison between zones and countries, and could have been less detailed and costly for such purposes.

• Communication  The village cluster level of platform organization and planning fills a notable gap in inter- community planning necessary to perform context analysis and action planning at the sub catchment scale. It also promotes information exchange among local value chain actors that has been absent.  Communication between Platform members and between Platforms is important to promote new ways of thinking and doing things, and underlines the need and opportunity to use information technology communication.

5.2 Provide a description of situations to demonstrate how you applied the following (both successes and failures); i) Integration, ii) Inclusiveness, iii) Bottom up, iv) options by context) Leveraging strategic partnerships -1pg each i) Integration

19 Joint site visits (DRYDEV and platform members) have been conducted in the target areas to identify land and water resources for restoration and development, thereby targeting several WP at the same time. The approach promotes a holistic discussion of the resources, resulting in more holistic integrated solutions being proposed. The result has been a more systemic approach to restoration of grazing areas: combining the realization of physical works for collecting water (half-moons or benches through the collective work of villages sharing the resource), seeding for improved fodder production, and the implementation of management options on the areas (protection, pasture rotation, cutting and selling hay, and collection and sale of seeds). Managing these areas in the near future will be self-financing, and able to support further up-scaling. Community involvement and good governance are critical to the success of such a process. ii) Inclusiveness

The restoration and management of grazing areas provides an opportunity to promote inclusiveness. Village chiefs, opinion leaders, innovation platform leaders, men, women and youth: all can be users of these shared resources, be they poor, rich, men, or women. While the wealthier community members will appreciate the increased access to fodder for their animals, the poorer members including women and youth can also draw benefit from the areas through the creation of Village Tree Enterprises for the exploitation of the NTFPs, or through access to firewood, or as employees for management activities.

FMNR surveillance committees have also recognised the value of inclusiveness in setting and respecting gender quotas in the composition of their surveillance committees which includes men, women and youth from each of the village’s neighbourhoods. iii) Bottom up

The visioning process promoted by DRYDEV Niger develops a collective vision of the municipality that is shared by the local population, but incorporates specific actions to achieve the vision that take into account the local variations in opportunities and constraints. These actions are planned at the village cluster level where shared resources and social relations favour collective initiative and shared responsibility between communities. But the actions need not be limited to the shared spaces between communities: the potential for inter-community cooperation on village or private lands also exists, such as for peer to peer training or reciprocal collective work agreements. In this manner the platforms can adapt their work across a broad variety of scale from the communal level down to an individual field, benefiting from the strength of collective analysis and work adapted to site specific situations. In this manner both the Bottom approach and the Options by Context approach are achieved simultaneously.

The strength of the model has been amply demonstrated in the Aguié municipality where communities voluntarily worked together to restore pasture areas. Before DRYDEV this type of collective action was unknown in the villages, and even more so in more recent times when individual interests and conflicts have displaced collective thought and action. At the very least, each participant would have expected to be paid by the project for the labor they contributed. And the work would have been organised at the individual village level to be manageable. DRYDEV has shown these barriers to be artificial when a Bottom up approach is used, resulting in a re-awakening of solidarity between communities and recognition of its power to transform. iv) Options by context

20 A process of building awareness and empowerment of communities has been created around the issue of land management, especially as concerns grazing areas, cattle corridors and their degradation. Joint missions (DRYDEV/platform members) were conducted in several municipalities to characterize these resources, in which participants had to explain the reason for the deteriorated states (dominance of non-palatable grasses, low biomass, gully and glaze formation due to the water-wind erosion, encroachment on grazing areas and corridor boundaries), giving rise to conflicts. During these visits, opinion leaders present discovered that they could take a number of measures within their grasp to counteract such practices. In Aguié, following the visit the platform organised concrete efforts to initiate restoration activities. In Droum, village chiefs or their representatives have promised to implement the solutions they found during the site visits. The site visits illustrate the usefulness of direct observation and exchange with the stakeholders, with DRYDEV acting ever as a catalyst towards findings solutions adapted to the local social and biophysical context. v) Leveraging strategic partnerships

DRYDEV Niger’s principal strategic partners at this point are the local authorities and technical services. The Innovation Platforms have strategically included both groups as de facto members, ensuring their participation in important discussions and activities. Their participation in project activities is typically reliant on providing per diems and other incentives. However as the platforms gain confidence in their capacity to produce change with their own means, so too are the local authorities and services solicited to fulfil their roles in the platforms and by extrapolation, in the municipalities. In a break with usual project practices, DRYDEV has informed them that per diems are only for field travel, not for meetings in their place of residence. Furthermore, services will not be solicited to go on field trips if they have not participated in the organisational meetings before hand. As the platforms’ activities gain momentum, it is expected that the local authorities and services will be more and more willing to join in, trading recognition in the communities they serve for their lost per diems when attending meetings in town.

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