CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES – UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS (CRS) Niger Program QUARTERLY REPORT FY13 Q4 BONBATU Project Number: AID-OFDA-G-13-00044 Project Period: March 25, 2013 to March 24, 2014 Reporting Period: July 1, 2013 to September 30, 2013 Submitted: 30 October 2013 Project Overview Title: Bonbatu Commune Locations: Departments of Tillabéri (Sakoira, Dessa, Anzourou, and Kourteye communes) and Ouallam (Simiri and Ouallam), Tillabéri region Goal: Vulnerable households and communities habitually affected by crises have restored livelihoods and strengthened capacity to resist to future shocks in the Tillabéri region of Niger Objective 1: The livelihoods of chronically vulnerable households have been reinforced Objective 2: Vulnerable households have supplemented their household income through Cash Grants and CFW activities Partners: • The Government of Niger (GoN) Department of Agriculture, to promote Moringa • The GoN county-level Department of Livestock, for habanaye breeding •The GoN Department of Environment and Fight against Desertification and the Department in charge of Rural Engineering, implicated in the identification of sites and structures built in accordance with the strategy of accelerated rural development. These departments are also partners in training team leaders and leadership teams as well as monitoring during the execution of the activity; • Implementation Partner: SOS Sahel International • Administrative authorities, for their advice and coordination support in the implementation of this activity as well as in community mobilization. • Private providers: Merchants of livestock, cattle farmers, and seedling production groups • Beneficiary communities BONBATU REPORT Page 2 Targeted groups: Village households identified as vulnerable by the Early Warning System (known as SAP for Système d’Alerte Précoce in French) following the 2012 crop year in the above mentioned communes. Beneficiaries • 4,176 households benefitted from the distribution of Moringa seedlings • 2,400 beneficiaries implemented recovery of degraded land recovery activities via Cash-for-Work (CFW) and received Cash Grants (CG) for two months at the peak of the lean season • 2,000 women identified to benefit from habanaye (distribution of small ruminants) in November 2013 I-Background: West Africa’s second largest country (1,267,000 km²), the Republic of Niger is home to over 16 million people, with 62% of the population living below the poverty line. Niger is characterized by environmental degradation exacerbated by droughts and floods, and structural poverty aggravated by inflation of basic food commodities. The majority of the population (90%) depends on rain-fed agriculture production for its nutritional needs. Yet, cyclical droughts and dependency on traditional cultivation methods leave much of the population prone to food insecurity. For over thirty years, Niger has suffered drastic repercussions from the gradual onset of more droughts, locust invasions and other pests, and the ‘desertification’ of more land which, compounded by abusive farming techniques, causes soil impoverishment. Other factors that increase vulnerability that have been at play for decades include: the third-highest population growth rate in the world, dependence on natural resources, lack of economic alternatives, poor governance, inequitable markets, and difficult accessibility to education, financial institutions, and health care.1 Communities have become increasingly exposed to risks due to their vulnerability and high levels of poverty. Many have little means of recovery after a difficult year. Because of the volatility of Nigeriens’ livelihoods, variations in rain and changes in the environment easily threaten food security and lead to significant loss of household and community assets, jeopardizing the development process and increasing poverty levels even more. Low levels of education2, gender inequality, and the persistence of preventable diseases and malnutrition3 compromises the people of Niger’s ability to meet their basic needs. 1 Human Development Indicators: Niger, http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/NER.html 2 UNICEF: At a Glance: Niger, http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/niger_statistics.html 3 UNICEF. State of the World’s Children 2009 BONBATU REPORT Page 3 During Niger’s 2011 harvest, late and irregular rains and the incidence of pests negatively impacted crops and pasture throughout the country, exposing millions of Nigeriens to food insecurity. The national cereal production deficit was 519,639 metric tons (MT), which was approximately 14% of annual consumption needs. At 164,146 MT, the Tillabéri region had the greatest overall deficit in 2011, representing 31.5% of the national total deficit. The region produced only 61.9% of its 6-year average (2005- 2010).4 In the Tillabéri region of Niger, 90% of land is degraded or eroded5, 80% of the population is considered poor6, and annual rainfall is 200-300 mm compared to 541 mm nationally.7 The Tillabéri region has the highest rate of acute malnutrition (14.8%) in Niger. Within the Tillabéri region, the Tillabéri department was the hardest hit in 2011 after producing only 16% of their annual consumption needs.8 On the whole, Niger’s 2012 harvest was significantly better than the previous year’s. Findings from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics’ 2012 harvest assessment estimated Niger’s cereal production at approximately five million metric tons, with a surplus of over 800,000 MT.9 However in spite of the nationwide production surplus, certain areas again saw below-average harvests, including in the Tillabéri region, where an estimated 700,000 people were unable to meet their food needs as early as January or February 2013.10 In addition, poor households had higher than usual levels of debt due to the 2011-12 crisis. Thus, the repayment of household debts through unpaid work or from household reserves may further reduce household food security.11 Food security statistics reveal that Ouallam has experienced agricultural production deficits every year for the past thirteen years, while Tillabéri has experienced food deficits for ten of the past thirteen years. This data indicates a chronic deficit in food production in these two departments. The results of the 2012 agricultural season evaluation indicated many villages and communes in the Tillabéri region that would again be food insecure. CRS therefore proposed to intervene in six communes in the districts of Ouallam and Tillabéri through an emergency food security project called Bonbatu to help chronically at-risk communities avoid food insecurity in 2013 and build their resilience to face future shocks. II- Project Implementation 2.1 Meeting with the administrative authorities of the area An information and dialogue meeting was organized for March 23-24, 2013 with the communes heads and Department heads of Technical Services. The meeting with the 4 The average from 2005-2010 was 721,991MT ; in 2011, the region produced 446,899MT according to GON. 5 SIG du projet PASP, GTZ 1998 6 PDES, 2000-2004 7 http://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx?crName=NIGER 8 PDES, 2000-2004 9 FEWS NET, Niger Food Security Outlook Update, Good cereal harvest and significant food security improvements, November 2012 10 Ibid. 11 FEWS NET, Niger Food Security Outlook, Sharp reduction in the scale and magnitude of food insecurity, October 2012 through March 2013 BONBATU REPORT Page 4 administrative authorities covered the results of the government rapid assessment, its plan to support the population, and its call for partners to support the GoN Support Plan. The meeting was an opportunity to present to the authorities CRS’ intentions to contribute to the realization of their Support Plan with the funds received from the US Government through OFDA. The meeting was also an opportunity to seek advice and support the active participation of members of the Committee on Regional Prevention and Management of Food Crises (CSRP/GC/CA) according to their field of expertise. 2.2 Identification of actors and stakeholders For the success of the project, various actors were involved in implementation. These include decentralized GoN Technical Services (Environment, Agricultural, Rural Engineering, and Livestock), private actors (traders, farmers, specialty groups, NGOs), and the communities themselves. To facilitate coordination and participation of different actors, the role of each participant was clearly defined in signed technical partnership agreements. Partnership framework Key tasks Actors -Monitoring of the implementation of NGO (SOS Sahel) Sub-Contract activities in the field - Identification of work sites Technical - Start-up and implementation GoN Environmental collaboration training Service agreement - Supervise and verify work - Technical support Technical - Start-up and implementation GoN Rural Engineering collaboration training Service agreement - Supervise and verify work - Technical support Technical -Start-up and implementation collaboration training GoN Livestock Service agreement - Supervise and verify work - Technical support -Re-stocking small ruminant markets Traders/Breeders Registration forms during the fairs -Service - Keep attendance records Community - Monitor work completion Site Teams participation - Monitor site and tools - Support technical works - Supervise payment 2.3 Beneficiary targeting BONBATU REPORT Page 5 • Targeting villages within targeted communes. This targeting is based on the degree of the village’s cereal