Resilience and Economic Growth in the Sahel - Enhanced Resilience REPUBLIC OF NIGER and BURKINA FASO
REGIS-ER
Quarterly Report
OCTOBER 1, 2018 TO DECEMBER 31, 2018
February 2019
Cooperative Agreement No. 625-A-14-00001
Blvd. Mali Béro, Rue IB-73 B.P. 12,909, NIAMEY Tel.: (227) 20.35.16.48
Table of Contents
I. Vision and approaches ...... 1
II. Programs’ highlights ...... 3
III. Local institutions achievements ...... 6 Local Institution 1 - Municipal Councils (CMs) ...... 6 Local Institution 2: Citizen Working Group (CWG) and Local Development Committee/Village Development Council (CLD/CVD) ...... 9 Local institution 3 – V. Service Providers Platform: Community-Based Solution Providers (CBSPs) and Local Resource Persons (PRLs) ...... 11
IV. Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Capitalization ...... 12
V. Securing land tenure for women ...... 17
VI. Cross-cutting activities ...... 20 Communications ...... 20 Implementation of the Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan (EMMP) ...... 21
VII. Project management ...... 21 Program Support ...... 21 Grants management ...... 23 Cost share ………… ...... 24
VIII. Appendices ...... 24 Annex 1: Table on Indicators of Project Performance ...... 25 Annex 2: Results of the assessment of the 2018 growing season on fields where Conservation Farming / Farmer-Managed Regeneration (CF/FMNR) were practiced in Niger and Burkina Faso, plus analysis of average yield increase from 2015 to 2018 in the two countries ...... 51 Annex 3: Status of Local Conventions as of December 31, 2018 ...... 53 Annex 4: REGIS-ER Mid-Term Evaluation Highlights ...... 57 Annex 5: Success story ...... 62
List of Tables Table 1: Status (at the end of the quarter) of the Commune Resilience Plans that the Municipal Councils in the communes of concentration are developing Table 2: Project staffing situation as of the beginning of the next quarter (January 1, 2019):
I. Vision and approaches
The first quarter of FY19 was a transition for REGIS-ER from its scaling-up phase, which was based on successful activities in its eight programs, to the upcoming phase of accelerated implementation of the project sustainability strategy which focuses on strengthening three targeted Local Institutions in a more concentrated geographical zone of intervention (ZOI), the 13 communes of concentration. By December 31, the project had transitioned to a correspondingly lighter structure with fewer staff. REGIS-ER’s regional and commune teams will coach the key actors within the three Local Institutions: Municipal Councils (Conseils Municipaux, CM); Citizen Working Groups (CWG), a commune-level entity, and its community-level partners, the Local Development Committees (Niger)/Village Development Councils (BF) (CLD/CVDs); Service Providers’ Platforms, primarily Community-Based Solution Providers (CBSPs) and Local Resource Persons (Personnes Ressources Locales, PRLs).
This quarterly report reflects this transition, highlighting both the progress achieved by the eight programs during this, the final quarter of the scaling-up phase and REGIS-ER’s work with the three Local institutions (Institutions Locales, IL).
In its FY19 Annual Workplan, REGIS-ER analyzed its sustainability strategy through the prism of the four factors of sustainability identified in the Food for Peace report “Sustaining Development: A Synthesis of Results from a Four-Country Study of Sustainability and Exit Strategies among Development Food Assistance Projects”: Motivation, Resources, Capacity, and Linkages. Here is an overview of REGIS-ER’s work during the reporting period in implementing its sustainability strategy, examined through that same prism: Motivation and Resources: Development of the Commune Resilience Plans During this quarter, the Municipal Councils in the 12 (original) Communes of Concentration, with REGIS- ER’s strong support, adopted an inclusive, participatory process (vis-à-vis internal and external actors) to develop their Commune Resilience Plans (Plan Communal pour la Promotion de la Résilience, PCPR), as described in the "Municipal Council" section of this report. The PCPR is the document of reference that will inform REGIS-ER’s interventions in support of the three ILs targeted in its sustainability strategy. The PCPR is not only the basis for planning in the commune and for REGIS-ER’s coaching support for the three ILs, it is also the tool for mobilizing external resources on behalf of the commune. As the commune's operational document of reference for resilience to food and nutrition insecurity (Résilience à l’Insécurité Alimentaire et Nutritionnelle, RIAN), the PCPR will guide the action plans of the ILs to consolidate and scale-up the resilience gains achieved in the communes through the interventions of all internal and external actors. To ensure the effective and sustainable implementation of the PCPR, the project will assist the ILs in adopting an approach based on the optimal use of their commune- and community-level resources -- human, material, and financial. Depending on the commune, the PCPR will be integrated into the Commune Development Plan (Plan de Développement Communal [Niger]/Plan Communal de Développement ([BF], PDC/PCD). Strengthening the project's internal capacity to provide quality support to the Local Institutions: staff training on the coaching approach Internally, the project focused initially on training staff who will be facilitating the coaching process:
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“Project Coaches” (Coaches Projet, CP): The CPs were selected from National and Regional Program Managers, positions that were eliminated on December 31, 2018. The three CPs in each region will coach the commune-level Local Institutions – the Municipal Councils, the Citizens Working Groups, and the commune-level platforms of service providers – as well as oversee and support the work of the project’s commune-based Coaches of Local Resource Persons and of Local Development Committees - Village Development Councils. (See below.) Regional Coordinators (Coordonnateurs Régionaux, CR): The CRs are members of the CPs’ regional team, but also have management duties which are unrelated to coaching. Coaches of Local Resource Persons and Local Development Committees-Village Development Councils (Coaches Personnes Ressources Locales et Comités Locaux de Développement -Conseils Villageoise de Développement), known as CPRL/CLD in Niger and CPRL/CVD in BF, or simply as CPRL: The CPRLs were selected from the project field agents who had successfully completed the project’s internal graduation process. (The field agent position was eliminated on December 31, 2018.) The CPRLs will be based in the communes and will coach two community-level actors: (1) individual CBSPs and PRLs; and (2) CLDs (Niger)/ CVDs (BF), which oversee, monitor and support the work of REGIS-ER’s community-level groups/platforms (Mother-to-Mother, Conservation Farming, Water Users’ Associations, etc.). There are 2-4 CPRLs assigned to each commune of concentration, depending on the number of villages of intervention (“successful villages”) in each commune.
To this end, the project organized a workshop in Niger during the period December 9-14, 2018 on teamwork and coaching of the three ILs. The training involved identification of the coaching "clients", setting coaching objectives, contracting and planning with the individual being coached, coaching know- how, soft skills (such as active listening, feedback formulation, identification and resolution of obstacles, etc.), and evaluation. The workshop, which was facilitated by Mr. Pape Sène, focused on the Project Coaches-Regional Coordinator Team (called the CP Team) and on the CPRL Team in each commune of concentration, whose work is overseen by the regional CP Team. The project will hold the same training program in Burkina Faso in the next quarter, during the period January 6-11, 2019. As of the end of the quarter, REGIS-ER had established and operationalized its human resources structure for the upcoming phase of accelerated implementation of its sustainability strategy. Linkages: Strengthening the capacity of Citizen Working Groups to take ownership of successful resilience activities alongside communities With the selection of the successful villages, the roles of the CWG and CLD/CVDs -- to ensure the consolidation/sustainability of project gains and the scaling-up of those activities and best practices within and beyond those villages – became critical. REGIS-ER sought to enhance the capacities of these ILs to fulfill those roles. The criteria used to select the members of the CWG’s and CLD/CVDs’ specialized commissions are their mastery of the selected activities and their individual leadership. It should be recalled that the CLD/CVD is a village entity made up of representatives from various stakeholders such as community-based organizations and associations that combine efforts to develop or strengthen strategies and to coordinate, plan, monitor, and analyze activities which reduce food and nutrition insecurity. The CWG is an entity that brings together the CLDs/CVDs of a commune. The CWG is created by the General Assembly of all the CLDs/CVDs within a commune, which elects the members of the CWG’s Executive Committee and of its Specialized Commissions on Best Practices. (Specialized Commissions are established to scale-up successful resilience activities such as Conservation Farming.) USAID|REGIS-ER FY2019 QR1 - page 2
To a certain extent, the CWG plays the same role at the commune level as the one the CLDs/CVDs play at the community level. Below are some of the key results and encouraging progress that REGIS-ER achieved during the quarter in implementing its sustainability strategy, which focuses on the promotion of three local institutions. These accomplishments provide clear evidence that the project is on the right path to sustaining resilience activities that it initiated or supported.
II. Programs’ highlights
Program Highlights per program during the quarter P5: Governance: Promotion of Local Institutions: See Section II with the highlights on each of REGIS-ER’s three targeted Local Institutions.
P1 - Habbanaye plus Animal Feed and Health: In Burkina Faso, four Local Networks for Animal Health (Réseau de Santé Animale de Proximité, RSAP) (Centre-Nord: 1, Sahel: 1, Est: 2), whose networks included 68 Auxiliary Veterinarians (Auxiliaires d’élevage, AE), vaccinated a total of 8,390 small ruminants and 295,601 poultry during the 2018 vaccination campaign. In Zinder region, two local private veterinarian service providers (Services Vétérinaires Privés de Proximité, SVPP) -- SVPP KITARI of Magaria and RURAL CLINIC of Mirriah, each of which has signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding with REGIS-AG and REGIS-ER -- organized training sessions for the AEs in their networks with support from REGIS-AG and then launched the vaccination campaign in their respective departments. In Dori, four animal fattening producer organizations, which had developed action plans with support from REGIS-ER, participated in the REGIS-AG- sponsored workshop involving animal suppliers and buyers. In addition, in Kaya (BF), REGIS-ER participated in a workshop with the various animal health stakeholders in the region, organized by the Centre-Nord Regional Directorate of Animal and Fish Resources. Successful Activity - Habbanaye: The project handed over the tool (Excel file) to track the placement and transfer of animal assets to five communes in Burkina Faso - Seytenga, Sebba, Barsalogho, Bouroum and Nagbingou. The tracker provides the exact status of placements and transfers by village and is an indispensable tool for the communes as it enables them to monitor the activity along with the habbanaye monitoring committees, without REGIS-ER. This tool, which is very user-friendly, shows not only the status of all livestock asset placements and transfers, but also that of beneficiaries per village in each commune where habbanaye is practiced. In addition, the tool can be used to determine the timing of asset transfers. In 22 villages (Centre-Nord: 14, Sahel: 8) located in seven different communes (Centre-Nord: 3, Sahel: 4), the CVDs supervised asset transfer ceremonies during the quarter, indicating that communities are well on their way to taking over ownership of habbanaye. P2 - Horticulture: Two wells at market gardens in Barsalogho Commune (Centre-Nord Region, BF) were received (provisional acceptance). In addition to the mini-Volonta pumps, complementary equipment to facilitate watering (rainmakers) were installed at three market garden sites in Burkina Faso (at Sebba and Lontia in Sahel region, and at Lahama in Manni Commune of Est Region). As part of the grant to Practica Foundation, three low-cost irrigation basins (Practica’s 2 m³ model) were constructed at two market garden sites in Tagazar Commune (Bourdounga and Lamoudi Sandiré villages, Balleyara region, in Niger). This quarter, the women gardeners at 12 community and Oasis sites in Balleyara paid nearly 1,700,000 CFA (almost $3,000) out-of-pocket for seeds for the cold season. The women invested between 24,000 and 45,000 CFA ($42-79) at seven sites, 70,000-120,000 CFA ($122-209) at three sites and over $250,000 ($436) USAID|REGIS-ER FY2019 QR1 - page 3
at two sites. This shows a significant increase in investment in operations. An analysis of the previous year’s operating accounts showed an average investment in seed of about 20,000 CFA ($35) per site. Successful Activity - Gardens: In Centre-Nord (BF), an intern from the Multi-Disciplinary Agricultural Center in Matourkou conducted a small survey of 90 women involved in home gardens in villages in Barsalogho and Bouroum Communes. Interestingly, the women noted that they now have permanent access to highly nutritious foods. This has allowed almost 50% of households to stop spending on condiments (mostly fresh leaves). P3 - Access to Financial Services: Five groups of animal fatteners from Manni Commune (Est region, BF) were linked to the MFI Graine SARL. For 2019, 24 Nigerien Producers' Organizations plan to grow nearly 500 tons for warrantage operations; 47% of the production will be cowpea. Successful Activity – SECCA (Self-managed Community Savings and Loan System / Système d’Epargne et de Crédit Communautaire Autogéré) : REGIS-ER now has a series of community videos on SECCA groups for use by Community Relay Agents (Agents Relais Communautaires, ARCs), CVDs / CLDs and CWGs: nine in Moore, five in Fulfulde, and four in Hausa. Five in Gourmantchema are being finalized and video shoots in Djerma have also started. During this quarter, the Mayors’ Offices of Bouroum and Barsalogho Communes (Centre- Nord, Burkina Faso) organized community microfinance promotion days to reinforce SECCA's roots in the intervention zones and enhance the status of the ARCs in the region. P4 - Resilient Production Systems: During this quarter, the project conducted the following World Food Program (WFP)-funded/-related activities: (i) participation in a training workshop in Kaya on developing Participatory Community Plans (PCP) and completion of PCPs in two villages in Barsalogho Commune; (ii) gully treatment measures on a 135 m³ gully at Dori; (iii) Cash for Work payments of over 72 million CFA ($125,657) to 2,428 beneficiaries in Kaya, Fada and Dori, of whom 1,943 were women. See the CBSP Platform section for more information on warrantage and the sale of PICS bags. Successful Activity - Conservation Farming and Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration (CF-FMNR): For the 2018 growing season, REGIS-ER adopted a new method to allow CLD/CVDs to conduct post-harvest assessments and analysis. This strategy will enable local actors to take ownership of yield assessments so that they will gain insights into the impact of new technologies on village-level production. CLD/CVDs, supported by REGIS-ER’s field agents and using a project designed tool, surveyed over 547 producers (BF 277, NG 270) in order to obtain estimates of the number of 100 kg sacks harvested per hectare in CF fields compared to non-CF fields for sorghum, millet and cowpea. The yield increases for the 2018 growing season for CF fields relative to non-CF fields ranged from 30 to 71% for sorghum, from 66 to 100% for millet and from 100 to 176% for cowpea in both countries (NG and BF). The results of the 2018 growing season in relation to those during the previous years of the project are analyzed in Annex 2. P5 – Natural Resource Management and Disaster Risk Management: During the quarter, the Municipal Councils (CMs) of the 12 Communes of Concentration prioritized the development of their Commune Resilience Plans (PCPRs). Accordingly, other CM-piloted activities, such as Local Conventions, were relatively limited during the quarter. Successful Activity - Local Convention (Convention Locale, CL): In Nagbingou (Centre-Nord Region, BF), the Municipal Council adopted the CL during the last quarter of FY18. The date of the signature of the CL is under discussion, but will probably occur during the second quarter of FY19. In Tagazar (Tillaberi South Region, NG), the first draft of the CL was written during the quarter and it will be submitted to the Steering Committee in February 2019 for validation. Once the document has been validated, the "Special Delegation" will then deliberate on the adoption of the CL.
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P6 - Water services: In Niger and in Burkina, contracts already established with the drilling companies were executed during this first quarter of FY19. In Niger 56 boreholes were partially completed. Most of these boreholes are expected to be received during the second quarter of FY19. In Burkina Faso, 16 boreholes were completely rehabilitated and received in Est / Fada region. In accordance with its contractual obligations in terms of water quality monitoring, the project will conduct quarterly water quality monitoring of the newly installed/rehabilitated boreholes. Successful Activity - Water Point Management Committees (Comités de Gestion des Points d’Eau, CGPE) : In addition to contracting and overseeing the construction work, the project conducted various activities to improve the quality of water services, including: 30 CGPEs in Niger (23 in Zinder region, 5 in Balleyara, 2 in Maradi) received training on water services user payment systems for the maintenance of human-powered pumps without outside financial assistance; and 62 Water User Associations were set up or re-established in Burkina Faso in Centre-Nord / Kaya region. P7 - Hygiene and Sanitation: During the quarter, REGIS-ER focused on monitoring the post-declaration/ post-certification of Open Defecation Free (ODF) activities in ODF villages and on awarding model home prizes. The project organized model home competitions in 28 Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) villages in the project intervention area, including 12 in the Sahel/Dori and 16 in Centre-Nord/Kaya Regions. The following prizes were distributed in each village: a wheelbarrow, six rakes, six brooms for outdoor use, eight boxes of soap, eight plastic kettles, and ten 20 liter plastic recipients with lids. Successful Activity - CLTS: In Burkina Faso, the Village / Neighborhood Sanitation Committees (CAV/Q) in the five ODF-declared villages of Barsalogho Commune updated their action plans to maintain ODF status until probable certification in March 2019. These action plans focused on the monitoring of the following community commitments: (1) monitoring of defecation sites, (2) the organization of hygiene-cleanliness days, (3) construction of additional latrines for persons who moved to the village after it was certified ODF; (4) construction of latrines in surrounding farming hamlets where people live during certain periods of the year; and (5) monthly meetings of CAVs/Q. In Niger, the project also emphasized the capitalization of its accomplishments and occasional monitoring of certain post-certification action plans. In all, 21 action plans were monitored (7 in Balleyara and 14 in Maradi). In Tillabéri North, six villages began replacing latrines that had collapsed and conducted environmental hygiene activities (such as village clean-up days). P8 - Community-based Health and Nutrition: In Niger, Citizen Working Groups and Local Development Committees held certification ceremonies for 24 model mothers and monitored the stocking of nutritional granaries. Some 439 kg of millet, 162 kg of cowpea, 38 kg of peanuts, 50 kg of dried cabbage leaves, 21 kg of dried moringa leaves and 14,800 CFA ($26) in cash were collected in the 116 villages with granaries. In Burkina Faso, the project finalized the expanded dissemination of the community video from 30 to 65 sites (26 in Kaya Region, 16 in Dori and 23 in Fada [Manni Commune]). These new sites were equipped with video projection kits and 52 disseminators were trained on video dissemination tools and techniques in the villages. In Niger, the project supported a video hub that produced a nutrition-led agriculture video on crop planning for a better household future. Successful Activity - Mother-to-Mother (MtM): The MtM groups held group talks with 4,300 women (NG: 3,035; BF: 1,265) on priority themes in Health-Nutrition and Hygiene-Sanitation during 772 (NE: 696; BF: 76) awareness-raising sessions. In addition, these groups organized 462 (NG: 450; BF: 12) non-subsidized community meals with 6,133 (NG: 5,990; BF: 123) MtM members participating. Mother-leaders organized more than 400 sessions on how to collectively produce nutritious enriched flour for infants (59 in BF, 348 in NG) reaching nearly 5,500 women (780 in BF, 4,665 in NG).
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III. Local institutions achievements
Local Institution 1 - Municipal Councils (CMs)
During the first quarter of FY19, REGIS-ER focused its efforts in support of the Municipal Councils and Citizen Working Groups (CWGs) on the development of Commune Resilience Plans (Plan Communal pour la Promotion de la Résilience, PCPR) in the 12 communes of concentration -- six in Niger (NG) and six in Burkina Faso (BF). (Please note that the project did not do work on the PCPR in Filingué Commune [NG] since it had not yet been designated as the thirteenth commune of concentration.) After having deliberated on the matter, the 12 CMs decided to seek REGIS-ER’s support to develop their PCPRs.
This process involved about a hundred participants per commune and generated much enthusiasm among both internal and external partners of the communes. The concerns of each stakeholder and the interventions of various partners were taken into account, thus making the PCPR a document of reference for the commune and all of its partners – and not just a REGIS-ER-related document. The process of developing the PCPRs began in November-December 2018, except in Gayéri Commune, where it began earlier. (See the table below.) The table presents the six major steps in developing a PCPR, as well as the status in each commune as of December 31, 2018. The process is well advanced in each commune (except Filingué) and will be completed during the second quarter of FY19.
Table 1: Status (at the end of the quarter) of the Commune Resilience Plans that the Municipal Councils in the communes of concentration are developing
The six major steps in the process of developing a Commune Resilience Plan (PCPR)
1. Launch date: a 2. Working plenary session of groups: problem 4.Synthesis of the CM to present analysis, 3. Plenary 5. Plenary Com- the results from 6. CM session Country Region and validate the identification, session on the session on Observations mune the plenary on the adoption current resilience and planning to results of the validating the session to draft of the PCPR situation and scale working groups PCPR draft the PCPR form working sustainability groups actions
NG Maradi Guidan- 13/11/18
Roumdji X
Tillabéri Sakoira 13/11/18
North1 X
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Tillabéri Filingué N/A Initially, REGIS-ER did not select Filingué Commune as a commune of concentration and intended to withdraw from the South1 commune on Dec. 31, 2018. Per its FY19 Annual Workplan, the project did not work on developing PCPRs in communes from which it was withdrawing on Dec. 31. However, during the quarter USAID informed NCBA CLUSA that it would like the project to continue working in Filingué Commune, so REGIS-ER has added it as the 13th Commune of Concentration. The project will begin the process of supporting the CM in developing its PCPR In the coming quarter.
Tillabéri Tagazar 19/12/18 The Municipal Council was South dissolved on Sept. 25, 2018. The government appointed a "special
X delegation" to carry out the functions of the CM on an interim basis. Tillabéri Tondi- 15/11/18
South kandia X
Zinder Bandé 14/11/18 X Zinder Droum 03/12/18 X BF Centre- Barsa- 13/11/18
Nord logho X
Centre- Bouroum 05/11/18
Nord X
Est Gayéri 05/09/18 At the request of the commune, REGIS-ER began in Sept., 2018 to fund technical assistance to Gayéri for the updating of its
X Commune Development Plan (PCD). The CM agreed to integrate its Local Convention and its PCPR into the PCD. Est Manni 22/11/18 X Sahel Sebba 14/11/18 X Sahel Seytenga 21/11/18 X
1 The project artificially divided Tillabéri Region into two separate regions for its own purposes because it had two sub-offices there -- one in Tillabéri (city) and the other in Balleyara. Within the project (including its progress reports), the area covered from the Tillabéri sub-office is called "Tillabéri North Region" and the area covered from the Balleyara sub-office is called "Tillaberi South Region". USAID|REGIS-ER FY2019 QR1 - page 7
The reflections of various mayors on the process of developing Commune Resilience Plans Mayor of Barsalogho Commune, Centre-Nord Region, BF: "We welcomed the idea of the PCPR because it is very relevant. It will be a document of reference for the development of the commune. The strong participation of stakeholders and especially the involvement of partners as the PCPR was developed will provide good visibility for the document and will facilitate intervention approaches for our partners, and ensure the sustainability of activities. To successfully implement the PCPR, the commune will establish a budget line. We expect the people of the commune, the Decentralized Technical Services, local associations, and partners of the commune to be actively involved [in the implementation of the PCPR]." Mayor of Bandé, Zinder Region, NG: "The process of developing our PCPR was definitely extremely interesting for us; it was participatory. This is the first time that we have done planning in the presence of all the actors who are directly concerned. As a result, we are very confident in the dynamism and commitment shown by the various participants throughout the process. From here, we must act quickly to ensure that the PCPR is integrated into the Commune Development Plan and that the people and partners of the commune are informed about the PCPR on a large scale so that they all know what is expected of them.” Mayor of Droum, Zinder Region, NG: “The process of developing the PCPR was the first experience of its kind for the commune, an innovation compared to the Commune Development Plan (PDC) because the actors involved took ownership of the main activities at an early stage of the process. This sparked the enthusiasm of the participants. Today we have a document that summarizes almost everything we need to do to improve the wellbeing of our people. I am very happy with the quality and even the relevance of the actions planned in the PCPR. And I also discovered that we have a lot of potential in our villages in terms of human resources. We need to integrate the PCPR into our PDC, the official document recognized by the State. We will be able to continue monitoring activities through the involvement of the direct actors (CM, CWG, CLD, and CBSP) who are committed and determined to ensure the continuity of the activities. And we can go to partners to request their support for the implementation of actions that exceed our capacities. All of the actors in the commune need to give of themselves unselfishly in order to successfully implement the PCPR.” Mayor of Seytenga, Sahel region, BF: “The Executive Committee of the Municipal Council and the Decentralized Technical Services have expressed appreciation for the PCPR approach. The Secretary General piloted and led the process from start-to-finish. The involvement of local actors made it possible to identify useful actions for the communities; it is not the project that decided what will be done; we ourselves said what we can and want to do, and how. The observation I made (since I visited all groups during the process to see how it was going and to give encouragement) is that everyone participated. Everyone shared their ideas and concerns during group work. One of the (municipal) councilors whose political affiliation is different from ours said that "the family got together to clothe the family," which I greatly appreciated because his comment shows that we have the same vision. Despite his busy schedule, even the Prefect remained until the end of the workshop. In fact, this document will make it possible to combine efforts with other partners of the commune and also to capitalize on the achievements of REGIS ER. Also, as the technical services were involved from the beginning of the process of developing the PCPR, it will be easier for us to gain their support. We will provide information [on the PCPR] to people in the villages and have the CVDs and the CWG take the lead on implementing the activities. We will work to ensure that the PCPR is the entryway for all the commune actors interested in the resilience of our communities.”
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Local Institution 2: Citizen Working Group (CWG) and Local Development Committee/Village Development Council (CLD/CVD)
Support from REGIS-ER During this quarter, REGIS-ER focused its support on coaching CWGs and CLDs/CVDs and monitoring the implementation of (or in one case, updating) their action plans. This approach fosters better ownership of their roles on the part of the CWGs and CLDs/CVDs. The project also: advocated in support of the CWGs’ request for an office at the commune. The communes of Seytenga (BF) and Guidan Roumdji (NG) provided CWGs with office space during the quarter. (Sakoira Commune had offered an office to its CWG during the last quarter of FY18.) assisted CWGs in finalizing their applications for official recognition. The CWG in Guidan Roumdji (NG) secured government recognition during the quarter. Four other communes of concentration in Niger (Bandé and Droum [Zinder] and Tagazar and Tondikandia [Tillabéri South]) had obtained official recognition in the previous quarter, bringing the total to five.
Citizen Working Groups (CWGs) During this quarter, the CWGs carried out the following activities: - Monitoring the implementation of the action plans of the CLDs/CVDs; - Overseeing the assessment and sharing the results of the Conservation Farming – Farmer- Managed Natural Regeneration (CF-FMNR) agricultural season in 2018; - Overseeing the transfer of habbanayé small ruminants and poultry assets; - Sensitization/orientation of CLD/CVDs on the start-up of the 2019 CF-FMNR growing season; - Facilitating the certification ceremonies for model husbands; and - Participating actively in the development of the PCPR: the CWG has ten representatives on the committee that develops the PCPR and they are involved in the various activities of the committee, in both plenary sessions and in working groups.
Local Development Committees / Village Development Councils (CLDs/CVDs) During this quarter, the CLDs/CVDs carried out the following activities: - Monitoring the assessment and sharing the results of the CF-FMNR growing season in 2018; - Monitoring composting operations in preparation for the 2019 CF-FMNR growing season. To date, 124 compost heaps / pits have been prepared -- 82 in Tondikandia Commune and 42 in Tagazar Commune (Tillabéri South [TS] Region, NG); - Monitoring the transfer of habbanayé small ruminants and poultry assets in the communes; - Monitoring the efforts of Village Sanitation Committees to reach and / or maintain "Open- Defecation Free" status in the villages; - Monitoring the work of MtM groups that stock nutritional granaries (in 12 villages of Bandé Commune [NG]) and organize community meals, combined with the collective production of enriched flour. (The groups organized 348 sessions in 58 villages -- 22 in Droum Commune and 36 in Bandé Commune [NG].); and - Participating actively in the development of the PCPR: like the CWG, the CLDs/CVDs have ten representatives on the committee that develops the PCPR and they are involved in the various activities of the committee, in both plenary sessions and in working groups.
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The reflections of a CWG on ownership of successful (resilience) activities
Barsalogho CWG, Centre-Nord Region, BF: "Our CWG has taken ownership of the implementation of habbanayé activities and the construction of stone barriers. [N.B. - The latter is a best practice involving soil and water conservation, which was selected by the Mayors of the Communes of Concentration as one of REGIS-ER’s “successful activities” to be consolidated and scaled-up.] Regarding habbanayé, in collaboration with the CVDs, we ensure the identification of beneficiaries and that the animals are transferred, cared for, and fed properly. As for the stone barriers, we identify appropriate pastoral sites and plan the construction work. We assess the quality of the implementation of the activities and report back to the commune and to the people in the villages. The PRLs trained by REGIS-ER help us to carry out these tasks. In addition, in order to operate legally, we finalized the draft of the texts required for the CWG’s official recognition (Statutes and Internal Regulations), developed with REGIS-ER’s support. We submitted these texts to the Mayor who then submitted them to the High Commissioner [of the Province] for approval. As the saying goes, "You can’t collect flour with only one finger". That’s why we will involve all stakeholders of the commune to achieve our mission."
Tondikandia CWG, Tillabéri Region, NG: “Between October and December 2018, we took the initiative to visit the 31 CLDs of our commune to inform them, and ensure their understanding, of their role to support successful [resilience] activities in their respective villages. During these visits, we observed 52 compost heaps/pits that had been made in the 31 villages. Our discussions with our CLDs and the groups involved the importance of practicing CF (easy practice, water conservation, soil fertility, etc.) and how to make and to use compost. Moreover, we (CWG and communities) are convinced that habbanayé has helped to increase the number of livestock in the villages, even among the poorest households; and contributed to improvements in soil fertility, an increased supply of milk, and increased incomes. Habbanayé is a practice that has strengthened social ties in our villages through donations, contributions to ceremonies (baptisms, weddings), animal transfers, etc. Our communities conduct Habbanayé with the support of their CLDs. All of the information about the development of habbanayé is written in notebooks kept by the management committees. We were also pleased to see that, in addition to the successful [resilience] activities, the CLDs also support the communities in terms of mobilizing people to attend public sanitation sessions held every two weeks or to participate in construction work in the public interest such as rehabilitating degraded roads and building (a) four classrooms, two of them made of thatch, for the school in Boulkass; (b) two classrooms made of mud bricks for the school in Attaloga; and (c) a shaded open-air waiting room with a thatch roof for the CSI [integrated health center] in Attaloga.”
Bandé CWG, Zinder Region, NG: “We have already begun to get involved in the sustainability of successful activities such as Conservation Farming where, in collaboration with the various CLDs, we conducted yield assessments for the evaluation of the 2018 CF growing season. We also decided to go to the villages to explain to the CLDs the CWG’s mission and how we will work for the well-being of our communities. We received a very warm welcome. Some CLDs have already paid their annual dues for the CWG.”
Guidan-Roumdji CWG, Maradi Region, NG: “We have gained legal recognition (an authorization), developed our Terms of Reference and quarterly action plan, and been provided with an office by the Municipal Council. The CM voted to delegate management responsibility for the implementation of the successful resilience activities to our CWG. With regards to taking ownership of activities, we have assigned to individual team members the supervision of successful activities in specific villages. This allows us at each of our monthly meetings to review the achievements of the CLDs in terms of sustainability and to determine the nature of the support which the CWG needs to provide them in the future.”
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Local institution 3: Service Providers Platform: Community-Based Solution Providers (CBSPs) and Local Resource Persons (PRLs)
During this quarter, the Municipal Councils invited the CBSPs and PRLs to participate in the development of the PCPR. Their active participation allowed them to showcase their services and to demonstrate that they constitute an important human resource in their communes and are capable of contributing to the sustainable implementation of the plan.
The CBSPs also seized business opportunities throughout this quarter to continue to provide solutions to the people in their communities. REGIS-ER supported their initiatives.
Thus, the CBSPs facilitated the launch of the 2018-19 warrantage operation by accompanying groups at the village level through training and the sale of PICS (Purdue Improved Crop Storage) bags for storing cowpea. In the regions of Zinder, Maradi, Kaya, and Fada, CBSPs sold more than 4,800 bags (including more than 4,300 PICS bags) to over 1,550 clients for a total of more than 5,000,000 CFA ($8,726). REGIS- ER and REGIS-AG played complementary roles, facilitating this activity by organizing (a) workshops in which the Producer Organizations (POs) took stock of the 2017-18 warrantage operation and planned for the 2018-19 one. CBSPs also participated and the two projects put them in contact with the POs; and (b) trainings on cowpea conservation techniques (with PICS bags). In some communes, the CBSPs are creating a dynamic business environment for individual producers and POs, particularly for cowpea production. In fact, CBSPs are intervening at different production stages: (a) training on the mode of production (i.e., the promotion of CF), (b) the sale of seeds and fertilizers, and (c) the promotion of storing production in warehouses by facilitating access to loans for warrantage through MFIs and by the sale of storage bags (including PICS bags).
During the quarter, Livestock CBSPs (Local private veterinarian service providers [SVPPs, NG]/Local Networks for Animal Health [RSAPs, BF]) and Auxiliary Veterinarians [AE]) began the annual vaccination campaign and sold ancillary products such as poultry feed, lick blocks, etc. SVPPs/RSAPs prepared for the campaign by organizing training sessions for their AEs with the support of REGIS-AG. The initial results from the regions of Zinder, Tillabéri South, Kaya and Dori indicate that SVPPs / RSAPs or their AEs generated more than 18 million CFA ($31,414) from the sale of their products and services and reached more than 11,000 customers.
CBSPs also continued to provide the following services: - Accompanying the SECCA groups (Self-managed Community Savings and Loan System): In Tillabéri South, Kaya, Dori, and Fada, 67 Community Relay Agents (Agents Relais Communautaires, ARCs) accompanied about 16,000 women members of the savings and loan groups. The ARCs earned a total income of 2,600,000 CFA ($4,538); - Selling/Providing horticultural inputs and services (Bioprotect products, vegetable seeds, fruit tree seedlings, crop protection treatments) to 3,000 gardeners with sales of more than 34,000,000 CFA ($59,337); and - Trainings on composting, soil and water conservation / soil protection and restoration, etc.
The emergence of several CBSPs that offer products and services related to health, nutrition and hygiene (the sale of moringa products, soap, and flour, and latrine construction services) was a
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noteworthy development. Nine CBSPs from Tillabéri South, Kaya, and Fada Regions reached nearly 1,000 customers and achieved sales of almost 400,000 CFA ($698). Overall, CBSPs provided goods and services to over 33,000 customers and had total sales exceeding 62 million CFA ($108,202) during the quarter.
Some notable results involving CBSPs in terms of their performance and the sustainability of their services In Sahel Region, four CBSPs from Sebba, Solhan, Seytenga and Tankougounadié Communes provided more than 1,000 customers with horticultural inputs (vegetable seeds and organic pesticides. The CBSPs’ combined sales exceeded 2,661,000 CFA ($4,644). In Maradi Region, one nursery manager, Mr. Aboubacar Issa, continues to achieve high sales revenues with 3,142,500 CFA ($5,484) this quarter. He sold more than 3,000 fruit tree seedlings and 1,000 forest tree seedlings to a total of 237 customers, including 1,000 seedlings of both types (fruit and forest trees) to the PAC3 Project in Tahoua on behalf of Garhanga village in Keita Department. ARCs have begun to grow their businesses (increase the number of SECCA clients) and now have average monthly incomes of almost 30,000 CFA ($52). Some have also begun to diversify their activities (increase the types of services that they offer), such as Mr. Nomao Mahaman of Guidan- Roumdji (Dogon Farou village) in Maradi Region. As both an Auxiliary Veterinarian and an ARC, he is known and accepted in the area because he has won the trust of his customers through the quality of his products and the advice he offers them on using them. He is convinced that an entrepreneur must avoid down periods and is currently working with five suppliers and more than 140 customers. He describes his involvement in the sustainability process initiated by REGIS-ER in these words: “I am one of the actors who has participated in the entire process of developing the PCPR for our commune. Through this involvement, I have been able to understand the actions proposed in the PCPR, and the very important role that the CBSPs/PRLs must play in its implementation. I act as a member of the commune-level CBSP/PRL platform through two of my services: the sale of PICs bags for conserving cowpea and the sale of animal health products. I have achieved sales exceeding 450,000 CFA ($785) in this short period of time since September 2018.”
IV. Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Capitalization
During the quarter, REGIS-ER’s work in Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Capitalization focused on the following activities: - The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Plan: finalizing the revision of the project’s indicators, targets, and data collection system; - Reporting: preparing the Annual Report and submitting several M&E-related reports to USAID; - The sustainability strategy: contributing to the development of Commune Resilience Plans (PCPRs) in the 12 Communes of Concentration; and - Learning and capitalization: conducting an Outcome Harvesting (OH) study and holding a capitalization workshop in Niger and in Burkina Faso to showcase results of REGIS-ER’s Hygiene and Sanitation (P7) and Community-based Health and Nutrition (P8) programs.
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REGIS-ER’s M&E Plan In April, 2018, USAID Senegal’s Sahel Regional Office organized a meeting in Dakar, attended by REGIS- ER’s Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) and M&E Expert, to review the project’s M&E Plan. At the meeting it was decided that the project would revise its indicators, targets, and data collection system. With the support of REGIS-ER’s program teams, the M&E Unit worked for several months to make the necessary revisions to align the project's M&E system with USAID's expectations. The review process took into account the No Cost Extension through 2019 and the sustainability strategy which reduced REGIS-ER’s zone of intervention (ZOI) to the 12 communes of concentration. On November 29, 2018, USAID approved the third version of the revised indicators, targets and data collection system, contingent upon the further revision of 12 of the project’s FY19 targets. REGIS-ER revised the targets accordingly and submitted the finalized document to USAID in early December. Reporting During the quarter, the M&E unit played a key role in the preparation of the project’s FY18 Annual Report (the indicator performance table and the M&E narrative section) and submitted to USAID the Feed the Future Monitoring System (FTFMS) report and the Performance Plan and Report (PPR).
REGIS-ER’s Sustainability Strategy During the quarter, the M&E unit also made a significant contribution to the development of the PCPRs in the 12 Communes of Concentration. The Regional M&E staff first attended workshops that the project organized to help the communes establish a process for the preparation of their PCPRs. The M&E staff then attended the follow-up meetings that the Municipal Councils organized with the various internal and external stakeholders in their communes in order to develop their PCPRs and consolidated the results of those meetings on behalf of the communes to move the process along.
Learning and Capitalization To support the sustainability of its achievements and replication of best resilience practices in its ZOI and beyond, REGIS-ER gave high priority to learning and capitalization in its FY19 Annual Workplan. During the quarter, the project conducted the following learning and capitalization activities: - Conducted an "Outcome Harvesting" study to supplement the MTE; - Held a capitalization workshop in Niger and in Burkina to highlight REGIS-ER’s achievements on the Hygiene-Sanitation (P7) and Community-based Health and Nutrition (P8) programs; - Created a database with the villages of intervention and key achievements in them; and - Updated documentation and tools for the purposes of capitalization.
REGIS-ER’s Mid-Term Evaluation In May-June, 2017, REGIS-ER undertook the data collection for its internal Mid-Term Evaluation (MTE) of 1,200 households in the villages where REGIS-ER has intervened in order to supplement the RISE MTE (conducted in April-May 2017) which had captured only 275 households from REGIS-ER villages. The objective of the data collection for the internal MTE was to obtain quantitative data necessary for assessing the outcomes and, where possible, the impact of REGIS-ER as an Activity, as mandated in the Cooperative Agreement. It should be noted that the Sahel Resilience Learning Project / Activity (SAREL) was tasked with the baseline and midline and REGIS-ER was instructed by USAID to leave this to SAREL, but the approved SAREL sampling method covered only 11 REGIS-ER villages (each with a cluster of 25 households). While this was judged by USAID not to be an issue since the objective as seen at the time was to assess the outcomes and impacts of the entire RISE initiative and not its component parts,
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subsequent discussions in 2017 led to the conclusion that it would be useful to conduct a mid-term evaluation of the REGIS-ER activity itself. Given the history, there is not a specific REGIS-ER baseline. Thus, the REGIS-ER mid-term data can only be compared to the RISE baseline (which was conducted 8-12 months after REGIS-ER began, so is more of a benchmark) and midline data reported by SAREL for High Exposure (RISE/REGIS-ER) villages and Low Exposure (non-RISE/REGIS-ER) villages. While, statistically speaking, this is an imperfect comparison, it is indicative and still instructive.
A consultant, Dr. Mamadou Diallo, analyzed the data collected for the MTE. (Since the consultant had previously conducted the data analysis on SAREL’s RISE MTE, this facilitated the comparison of the two MTEs.) Jan T. Twarowski, M&E Expert and Vice President-International of Sheladia Associates, Inc., NCBA CLUSA’s consortium partner, submitted to REGIS-ER an advanced draft (version 4) of the MTE report in late December, 2018. Mr. Twarowski’s report, which draws on Dr. Diallo's analysis, is based on his own work integrating and comparing results with the SAREL baseline and mid-line surveys of the RISE zone and builds on his work at the Outcome Harvesting workshop in October, 2018. The MTE report will be finalized during the coming quarter and submitted to USAID. At the same time it will be translated into French and shared with the two host governments, in preparation for a learning and capitalization workshop that will be organized in each country during the third quarter of FY19.
The highlights of the results of the MTE are presented in Annex 4.
The Outcome Harvesting Study follows up on the MTE In October, 2018, REGIS-ER conducted the data collection phase of its Outcome Harvesting (OH) study, undertaken to follow up on the MTE – specifically to document outcomes2 and associated significance. NCBA CLUSA’s Director of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning, Nilu Rimal, directed the study, which was a vast team effort, and submitted the draft report to REGIS-ER on December 6, 2018. She was assisted by Jan Twarowski and by REGIS-ER’s M&E team and DCOP. In addition, the project’s Technical Director and Technical Coaches for Livelihoods, Health-Nutrition-Hygiene-Sanitation, Local Institutions, and Natural Resource Management significantly contributed to the study.
The study analyzed outcomes cited by multiple groups of change agents: - a first layer of change agents: REGIS-ER staff; - a second layer of change agents: commune and village actors (e.g., local governing entities [CMs and CVD/CLDs], individual business enterprises [CBSPs], and local groups [MtM]); and - the ultimate change agents: individuals contributing to their own improved well-being. Change agents across the regions where the project intervenes in Niger were asked to describe REGIS- ER’s contributions and discuss the significance of outcomes. Six REGIS-ER staff were trained to harvest outcomes in both Niger and Burkina. The data collection methodology was Focus Group Discussions. In all, 74 groups participated in these discussions: 26 MtMs, 13 CBSPs, 24 CLDs/CVDs, and 11 CMs.
General findings The change agents consistently reported that REGIS-ER’s contributions have been crucial in achieving improvements to the overall well-being of households, villages, and communes in terms of livelihoods,
2 Outcomes are defined here as the change in behaviors, practices, and relations of the change agents. USAID|REGIS-ER FY2019 QR1 - page 14
governance and institutions, and health-nutrition. After participating in REGIS-ER’s capacity building sessions, commune and village level change agents adopted a new set of behaviors and practices and are capable of influencing health, nutrition, and livelihoods behaviors and practices of individuals and households. Notable outcomes (change in behaviors, practices, and relations of change agents) Commune and village level: 1) adoption of sensible governance practices, 2) adoption of a women’s Significant Outcomes across REGIS-ER’s empowerment approach, 3) active engagement in Components promoting agricultural productivity, and 4) adoption of Livelihoods: a Behavior Change Communication approach, especially o Increased household income reported by in health and nutrition (for example, in MtM groups). 80% of MtM groups. Seventy-two percent (72%) of CM groups reported o Increased food security reported by 80% of reduced conflicts thanks to the adoption of local MtM groups. conventions and the work of the CWGs and Village Land o Increased revenue and household income Tenure Commissions (Commissions Foncières de Base reported by 75% of CBSP groups. [Niger], COFOBs). Governance: o Clean villages reported by 70% of all the Individual households: 1) increased visits to / groups: compliant with Open Defecation utilization of health clinics, 2) safe child feeding Free standards. practices, 3) hygiene and sanitation practices, and 4) o Better management of natural resources active participation in livelihood activities. Eighty reported by 60% of CM groups. percent (80%) of all focus groups achieved reduced o Reduced conflict reported by 72% of CM malnutrition rates. Availability of enriched flour in the groups. Decrease in conflicts involving 1) markets and demonstrations on the preparation of farmer-farmer, 2) farmer-herder, 3) enriched porridge were reported as contributing herder-herder, and 4) farmer/ herder-land factors. owner. Health and Nutrition: CBSPs: 1) application of business trade and o Reduced incidence of pregnancy- and management skills, 2) application of demand-driven birth-related complications reported by market strategies, 3) adoption of a customer-focused 76% of all focus groups. approach, 4) adoption of a growth mind-set, and 5) o Reduced incidence of diarrheal episodes networking and collaboration. reported by 76% of all the groups. o Reduced incidence of malnutrition cases Why the outcomes were significant reported by 80% of all the groups. The study highlighted significant outcomes in each of the three REGIS-ER components: - Improved livelihoods o Increased household income reported by 80% of MtM groups: They participated in SECCA, CF, habbanaye, home-gardening, and diversified their livelihood activities; o Increased food security reported by 80% of MtM groups: availability of food in the local market, goats’ milk at home, vegetables from the garden aided in food security; o Increased revenue and household income reported by 75% of CBSP groups: application of business trade and skills led to increased household income. Some have built new houses, acquired televisions and other assets, expanded their business, and/or acquired technologies for their business. - Improved governance and institutions
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o Clean villages reported by 70% of all the groups: compliant with open defecation free standards (the objective of the project’s Community-Led Total Sanitation approach). o Better management of natural resources reported by 60% of CM groups: recovery of degraded land, water point rehabilitation, increased access to pasture for herders were mentioned. o Reduced conflict reported by 72% of CM groups: adoption of Local Conventions and the work of CWGs and Village Land Tenure Commissions were emphasized. Each of these contributed to a decrease in four types of conflicts 1) farmer-farmer, 2) farmer-herder, 3) herder-herder, and 4) farmer-land owner and herder-land owner. - Improved health of women and children o Reduced incidence of pregnancy- and birth-related complications reported by 76% of all focus groups: MtMs and CVD/CLDs encourage women to go to health centers for prenatal consultation and child delivery. Some MtM groups impose fines for child- delivery at home. Husband schools were reported to have been very effective. o Reduced incidence of diarrheal episodes reported by 76% of all the groups: Behavior Change Communication campaigns and community meal events were crucial. o Reduced incidence of malnutrition cases reported by 80% of all the groups: availability of enriched flour in the local market, demonstration of enriched porridge preparation, and exclusive breastfeeding were reported as contributing factors.
Regional differences The qualitative findings from the Outcome Harvesting assessment also help the project and its stakeholders to better understand regional differences and supplements the data from the quantitative MTE. A discussion is needed to determine what drives these differences so that REGIS-ER (as well as ongoing and future RISE II Activities/Projects) can develop effective strategies.
Next steps The OH Report will be finalized in February 2019. It will provide more details on the significant outcomes. Like the MTE Report, the OH Report will be translated into French and shared with USAID and the two host governments, in preparation for a learning and capitalization workshop that will be organized in each country during the third quarter of FY19.
At the same time, the REGIS-ER team will carefully examine the results of the MTE and OH study and discuss the implications of these results in terms of adaptive management. Capitalization of REGIS-ER’s work in Health-Nutrition-Hygiene-Sanitation In October 2018, REGIS-ER organized a workshop in each country to capitalize its experience on its Hygiene-Sanitation (P7) and Community-based Health and Nutrition (P8) programs. The workshops shared REGIS-ER approaches, documents and various tools; shared experiences, results achieved, and lessons learned during project implementation with technical partners, relevant technical services and local level actors; and presented recommendations for monitoring, institutionalizing, and scaling-up successful approaches and best practices for ministries and local institutions.
Thanks to the active participation of key representatives of the Ministries in charge of Health, Hygiene and Sanitation, USAID Burkina Faso, NGO partners, mayors of the communes of concentration, and a few
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leaders of community platforms supported by REGIS-ER, the workshop participants made the following recommendations: - Monitoring of Open Defecation Free-certified villages should be ensured; - REGIS-ER should strengthen its collaboration with the government’s health/technical services; - The communes should take ownership of, and allocate resources to, the continuation of successful project-initiated actions; and - The role of Community Quality Improvement teams should be strengthened.
Database of the project’s main achievements with the villages of intervention To ensure that REGIS-ER’s direct results are traced, the M&E unit, in collaboration with the regional teams, set up a database of the project’s main achievements. This database complements the data on REGIS-ER’s contractual indicators and is all the more important as it documents essential information on activities carried out by each of the 1,123 communities benefiting from the REGIS-ER intervention. This database is an important tool for capitalization and can be used for many purposes, including: - the presentation of the project's achievements: statistics, graphs and thematic maps; - a toolkit for supporting communes as they implement their PCPRs; - a geographical comparison of project results; and - support for planning future interventions. This database of achievements was updated in December 2018.
Updated documentation and tools for the purposes of capitalization: See the Communication section of this report.
V. Securing land tenure for women
To increase women’s sustainable access to land, REGIS-ER has helped women’s community-level producer groups to access abandoned sites where they could practice bio-reclamation of degraded lands (BDL) and oasis or community gardening sites where they could practice irrigated agriculture. Since 2014, the project has supported the efforts of these women’s groups to purchase land, to borrow it (i.e., to obtain a land “loan” for a specified duration), or to receive land donations. These different Women's access to land under REGIS-ER actions have enabled women’s groups (since 2014) to gain access, on a permanent or 0 temporary basis, to about 392 Expired loan 62,84 62,84 hectares (ha) in Niger and Burkina. In Temporary: 17 late FY18, REGIS-ER conducted an 254,63 on loan assessment of the land security 271,63 25,25 situation on nearly all 455 ha which Permanent 90,84 had been made available to women’s 116,09 groups for project-related work in the Total 42,25 412,81 course of the project. The results of the Hectares 455,06 assessment revealed that women’s 0 100 200 300 400 500 groups had gained permanent access BF to 116 ha (a deed obtained through a Niger USAID|REGIS-ER FY2019 QR1 - page 17
purchase or donation) and temporary access 272 ha for a duration of one year or more (loan). However, the results also showed that loan agreements on 63 ha (all in Niger) had already expired – i.e., had not yet been extended/renewed. (The assessment did not include the situation on the four remaining ha.)
As the graph above indicates, women’s groups in Niger have permanent access to 91 ha (a deed). As for Burkina, women’s groups have received donations or purchased 25 ha. However, these groups have not yet received an Attestation of Land Ownership in Rural Areas (Attestation de Possession Foncière Rurale, APFR) which is necessary for permanent and secure access to land in rural areas of Burkina Faso.
The situation for land where the women’s groups have temporary access (255 ha in Niger, 17 in BF) obtained with a loan document or once had such temporary access (63 ha in Niger) is more complex. During the preparation of the PCPRs in November-December, 2018, the key Local Institutions involved in land security – Municipal Councils, Citizen Working Groups, and Local Development Committees/Village Development Councils – all made commitments to help women’s producer groups obtain “secure access” to land. In this context, secure access for the women’s groups means a long-term loan (10 or more years) with a legal agreement at a minimum or permanent access (which usually comes from a donation) in a best-case scenario. In practice, this commitment means that one or more of the ILs in Niger will assist the women’s groups in Niger in renegotiating the loans with the landowners on the 63 ha where the loan documents have expired, provided that the groups wish to continue working on that land. The ILs will also help the women’s groups in both countries to negotiate with landowners, as needed, for land where the women’s groups have less than 10 years of temporary access. All REGIS-ER regional and commune-level teams will provide support to the ILs in these efforts, as needed. The table below shows the situation of all 255 ha in Niger and all 17 ha in Burkina Faso for which women’s groups have temporary access – specifically, the duration of the loans as of December 31, 2018. It should be noted that in Burkina Faso, no loans providing temporary access to land will expire within the next year.
Remaining Niger Burkina Faso Niger + Burkina Faso duration of loans No. of ha % of total No. of ha % of total No. of ha % of total up to 2 years 145 57% 1 6% 146 54% 3 - 4 years 7 3% 2 12% 9 3% 5 - 9 years 59 23% 6 35% 65 24% 10 or more years 44 17% 8 47% 52 19% Total 255 100% 17 100% 272 100%
Advocacy to better secure land tenure The objective of REGIS-ER’s advocacy on women’s land security in Niger and BF is to develop peaceful relations between landowners and recipients of land loans. In the case of loans, the return on investment is the main factor on securing land tenure. The duration of the loans must enable the beneficiary to make profitable investments, often with the project’s/outside assistance (capacity building, stone barriers, organic matter, etc.). For women’s groups to achieve this return on investment, they need access to the land for a minimum of ten years, and preferably more (i.e., a renewable loan).
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In Niger, some 1,600 women producers from 52 villages who work Highlighting advocacy actions on 57 ha (at 57 sites) succeeded in 18,0 increasing the average duration of 16,0 their loans from 0.7 to 10.6 years (!), 14,0 as shown in the graph to the right. 12,0 One can draw two conclusions from 10,0 this experience: (1) the fact that the 8,0 6,0 women were their own advocates – 4,0 negotiated directly with their land- 2,0 owners -- was clearly a critical factor 0,0 in their gaining long-term, albeit still Bandé Droum Sakoira Kourtheye Average temporary, access to the land; and (2) Duration women’s acquisition of land is usually Average duration of loans (before advocacy) a gradual process. Unless they receive a donation – and donations remain Average duration of loans (after advocacy) rare in a context with increasing pressure on the land because of rampant demographic growth -- women need a long operating period in order to generate enough profit (i.e., to save enough money) to eventually purchase the site.
In Burkina Faso, REGIS-ER’s strategy to increase women's sustainable access to land is different from its strategy in Niger. This reflects the significant differences in the land tenure systems and institutions in the two countries. For the past two years, the project and its partner, the National Observatory for Land Tenure in Burkina Faso (ONF-BF), have promoted the issuance of land titles by the commune-level Rural Land Tenure Services which provide permanent, secure access to sites operated by women. During the final six months of the grant award (July-December 2018), the project focused its efforts on two of the five communes initially targeted -- Barsalogho and Bouroum in Centre-Nord Region -- for reasons of efficiency and effectiveness. Fifty APFRs for 50 ha available are currently being developed for women’s groups representing 2,536 members.
Prospects and Challenges As shown in the table on the previous page, the loan agreements covering 146 ha (54% of the land to which women have temporary access), including 145 ha in Niger, will expire by the end of 2020. Advocacy actions will be carried out during the 2nd quarter of FY19 by site surveyors in collaboration with ILs (CMs, CWGs), CVDs and CLDs, COFOBs and COFOCOMs, and religious and customary leaders in both countries. In addition to landowner advocacy efforts in BF, a study will be conducted to identify potential barriers as well as the required conditions needed to successfully implement APFRs.
Accordingly, during the coming quarter of FY19 the women producer groups at these sites with the support of relevant Local Institutions (CMs, CWGs, CLDs/CVDs, community- and commune-level land tenure commissions, religious and traditional leaders) will negotiate with the landowners to extend the duration of their loans or to seek a land donation. In Burkina, in addition to the negotiations with landowners and the advocacy directed at ILs, the project will seek to identify the factors that prevent or delay the issuance of APFRs and the effective levers that accelerate the process.
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VI. Cross-cutting activities
Communications
Media Coverage and Visibility The project benefited from national media coverage during the two capitalization workshops held in each country in October on REGIS-ER approaches, results, and challenges in Health-Nutrition and Hygiene- Sanitation, including an article published in the Observer Paalga (to the right), a report broadcast on national TV, and a report broadcast in French, Mooré, and Fulfulde on national radio. In addition, the Regional Directorate of Agriculture and Hydraulic Development of Centre-Nord region in BF promoted a visit by the head of the World Food Programme (WFP) of a pastoral site in Ringuema on its Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/draah.centrenord/posts/473304403159024). This site was laid out in stone barriers and half-moons, and planted and seeded with forage species, with technical support from REGIS-ER and cash for work provided by WFP.
Production and Sharing of Knowledge The project developed a success story on securing land tenure for BDL sites for women in Burkina Faso. (See the success story in Annex 5.) It appeared as the lead article in an issue of NCBA CLUSA’s "Co-Op Weekly" newsletter on December 18, 2018 (https://ncba.coop/ncba-international/2394-women-reap- the-benefits-of-land-tenure-in-burkina-faso-and-niger). The project also contributed to a “Digital Assessment” conducted by a team of researchers on behalf of USAID Burkina Faso, with its experience on the use of Mobile Applications to Secure Tenure (MAST).
REGIS-ER also shared its experience working in sensitive areas (Sahel region in BF, Tillaberi region in NE) at the workshops organized in Burkina and in Niger by SAREL for Implementing Partners of Resilience, Governance, and Countering Violent Extremism.
In terms of publications, the project finalized the Arziki Onion Storage Granaries Manual for better onion conservation and a technical brief on the organization of community meals. Finally, in collaboration with Pathfinder Niger, the project also produced visual tools to integrate the practice of Conservation Farming with best practices in Reproductive Health and Family Planning.
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Implementation of the Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan (EMMP)
About the adverse impact “fertilizer, pesticide and new seed use" This quarter coincides with the harvest of the main growing season (Conservation Farming and Bio- reclamation of Degraded Land fields in particular) and the beginning of the dry season production, when market gardens and home gardens are set up. During the quarter, REGIS-ER’s field staff worked closely with Local Resource Persons and Community-Based Solution Providers to ensure that producers would comply with REGIS-AG / -ER’s Pesticide Evaluation Report and Safer Use Action Plan (PERSUAP), which USAID had approved in July, 2018. In working with the PRLs and CBSPs, the project staff emphasized the importance of the proper conditions for pesticide use.
About the adverse impact “Introduction of new breeds” During the quarter, each Municipal Council in the communes of concentration began the process of developing its Commune Resilience Plan (PCPR) with REGIS-ER’s support. The project emphasized the adoption of mitigation measures to alleviate the environmental impacts of livestock in general and goats in particular -- establishment of grazing areas, haymaking and conservation of natural fodder in order to feed animals without a grazing area, harvest and storage of crop residues, promotion of dual purpose crops, etc. In addition, when transferring animals during Habbanayé operations, one of the conditions that recipients must fulfill is to have adequate fodder reserves for the goats in order to avoid free grazing.
About the adverse impact related to « water services » One of the main responsibilities of the Water Users’ Associations / Water Point Management Committees (AUE/CGPE) is to ensure compliance with hygiene and sanitation measures around the boreholes. AUEs or CGPEs have been set up or re-established at the site of every new or rehabilitated borehole and sensitized (or re-sensitized) about the importance of complying with health measures in order to minimize the risks of contamination to are followed for all new boreholes and rehabilitated boreholes. In addition, in accordance with the protocol for monitoring water quality, the new boreholes are sampled for water quality testing.
In accordance with its sustainability strategy of transferring ownership of resilience activities from the project to targeted Local Institutions (ILs), REGIS-ER will induce the ILs to take responsibility for ensuring that the various measures to mitigate the environmental impacts mentioned in the EMMP are actually conducted.
VII. Project management
Program Support
Program Support During the quarter, REGIS-ER’s senior management focused on staffing and staff training for the transition from the scaling-up phase of the project to the phase of accelerated implementation of the sustainability strategy (which essentially covers the same period as the No Cost Extension [NCE]).
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Human Resources Management The transition to the phase of the project which is focused on the promotion and coaching of Local Institutions (ILs), required significant changes to REGIS-ER’s structure and staffing. Accordingly, the project took these actions during the quarter:
Termination of the employment contracts of the following program staff as of December 31, 2018: all Program Managers, both National and Regional. (The eight programs which REGIS-ER had established for the scaling-up phase ended on the aforementioned date.) all multi-disciplinary field agents (Agents de Terrain Polyvalent, ATP). Hiring of the following program staff as of January 1, 2019: o 21 Project Coaches (“Coaches Projets”, CP), who were recruited among the outgoing Program Managers through an internal competitive process. o 34 Coaches of Local Resource Persons (“Coaches Personnes Ressources Locales”, CPRL). In accordance with its sustainability strategy, REGIS-ER conducted a graduation process for its ATPs during the last half of CY18. In fact, the project conducted two graduation cycles; the first one ended in July 2018 and the second one in November. All of the graduates of the first cycle were named CPRLs in July. They were offered employment contracts as of January 1, 2019, along with the top graduates of the second cycle. (There were a limited number of CPRL positions available.) Reduction in the number of drivers, which reflected a corresponding decrease in the number of vehicles.
In order to implement its sustainability strategy (to strengthen ILs), REGIS-ER had to build or strengthen the capacity of its program team, both its field staff (the CPs, CPRLs and Regional Coordinators) and the central-level staff in Niamey and Ouagadougou that provides guidance and support. The project undertook an ambitious and highly successful training program on teamwork and coaching. The focus on teamwork was needed because the composition and roles of the regional and commune-level teams had fundamentally changed; the focus on coaching was necessary because it is the primary methodology which the staff will use to support and strengthen the ILs. (See the section on Vision and Approach for further details about the training.)
Table 2: Project staffing situation as of the beginning of the next quarter (January 1, 2019): Category of Staff Niger Burkina Total Expatriates 2 0 2 Third Country National (TCN) 2 1 3 National Staff / NCBA CLUSA 64 42 106 National Staff / Partners 8 6 14 General Total 76 49 125
Administration, Finance, and Operations The Admin.-Finance team continues to support project implementation in an efficient, effective manner, in keeping with NCBA CLUSA’s policies and procedures. During the quarter, the team focused its efforts on the following: monitoring and enforcing internal control procedures; USAID|REGIS-ER FY2019 QR1 - page 22
the timely production and submission of accurate financial reports to USAID and NCBA CLUSA; and training/refresher sessions for all project staff on the Code of Business Ethics and Conduct and on the theme “Respectful Workplace”.
Grants management
Grants and Contracts Management During the quarter, the grants management team monitored project-supported activities at the level of NCBA CLUSA’s partners in order to ensure compliance with agreements. In the context of the No Cost Extension, several consortium partnerships ended on December 31, 2018 and several others were extended through July 31, 2019.
During the quarter, NCBA CLUSA ended its agreements with one international and three local consortium partners: URC, A2N, APOR, and AREN. Here is a table that summarizes the situation for each of the three partners: Organizations Country Activities Status/End URC International Health-Nutrition-Hygiene- December 31, 2018 Sanitation A2N Burkina Faso Capacity building, conflict December 31, 2018 * management APOR Niger Capacity building, PO December 31, 2018 development AREN Niger Livestock and pastoral systems October 31, 2018 ** management
* Since no Program Managers or (multi-disciplinary) field agents from A2N were selected to be CPs or CPRLs in the post-January 1, 2019 phase of the project, NCBA CLUSA decided to terminate the partnership. ** The agreement with AREN was initially extended through December 31, 2018. However, NCBA CLUSA subsequently decided to terminate the partnership because of AREN’s serious breaches of the terms of the agreement. These included: i) a court case involving AREN’s board and its executive staff, which caused AREN’s bank accounts to be suspended and prevented the normal functioning of the association; ii) lengthy delays in paying the salaries of their REGIS-ER staff; and iii) failure to justify in a timely manner advances received from NCBA CLUSA. NCBA CLUSA extended the performance period at no cost for three local consortium/implementing partners through July 31, 2019. All of those organizations have staff who have been retained as CPs or/and CPRLs: Organizations Country Activities Status MWANGAZA ACTION Burkina Faso/Niger Community health Active ADROC Niger Governance, PO, training Active EAA Niger Water/sanitation Active
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Cost share
REGIS-ER has reported $6,142,448.89 in cost share as of December 31, 2018. Additional cost share collected in FY18 primarily from the in-kind contributions of producers who practice Conservation Farming comes to $4,260,399.31 (see the column with the heading “Expenses under review” in the table below). NCBA CLUSA’s Contract and Compliance Department is currently reviewing those contributions. REGIS-ER staff expects these contributions to be approved, in which case NCBA CLUSA will considerably exceed its cost share requirement for the life of the project of $7,027,811.00.
Summary of Cost Share Contributions as of December 31, 2018: Activities Reported through Expenses under Total projected Cost review - (B) Share Life of Project - December, 2018 - (A) (C= A + B) Livestock and Poultry $224,289.17 $34,982.37 $259,271.54 Agriculture Inputs and $3,521,334.77 $4,148,705.03 $7,670,039.80 Labor Latrines, Boreholes, Well $1,193,993.06 $0.00 $1,193,993.06 URC Cost Share $187,271.39 $76,711.91 $263,983.30 Partnerships $568,954.09 $0.00 $568,954.09 Trainings $9,596.41 $0.00 $9,596.41 Upward Adjustment $437,010.00 $0.00 437,010.00 Total $6,142,448.87 $4,260,399.31 $10,402,848.18
VIII. Appendices
Annex 1: Table on Indicators of Project Performance ...... 25 Annex 2: Results of the assessment of the 2018 growing season on fields where Conservation Farming / Farmer-Managed Regeneration (CF/FMNR) were practiced in Niger and Burkina Faso, plus analysis of average yield increase from 2015 to 2018 in the two countries ...... 51 Annex 3: Status of Local Conventions as of December 31st, 2018 ...... 53 Annex 4: REGIS-ER Mid-Term Evaluation Highlights ...... 57 Annex 5: Success story ...... 62
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Annex 1: Table on Indicators of Project Performance
Performance FY19 Cumulative LOP Performance Indicators Disaggregations Achieved Target FY19 TOTAL % Target End FY18 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Achievement Achievement FY19 FY19 Target
STRATEGIC OBJETCIVE 1: Increased and Sustainable Economic Well-Being
Intermediate Result 1.1: Diversified Economic Opportunities Total 83% 92% 92% 1.1.1. Percentage of Niger 79% 92% 92% households reporting Women 6% 20% 0% increase in income from Men 94% 80% Annual Survey 0% off-farm (out of rainfed agriculture) economic Burkina 88% 92% 92% opportunities Women 7% 30% 0% Men 93% 70% 0% Total 5 021 5250 0 Annual Survey 5 250 Niger 4 223 4 400 0 4 400 New 0 0 0 Continuing 4 400 0 0 1.1.2. Number of full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs Women 1 190 0 0 created with USG Men 3 210 0 0 assistance (C ) Rural 4 400 0 0 Urban 0 0 0 Burkina 798 850 0 850 New 250 0 0
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Continuing 600 0 0 Women 172 0 0 Men 678 0 0 Rural 825 0 0 Urban 25 0 0 Total 104 515 3 500 327 327 9% 111 400 Niger 71 278 2 500 297 297 12% 75 400 1.1.3. Number of Women 2 250 273 273 0 individuals trained in skills Men 250 24 24 0 relevant for off-season labor (NC) Burkina 33 237 1 000 30 30 3% 36 000 Women 640 21 21 0 Men 360 9 9 0
Intermediate Result 1.2. Production and Marketing Scale up
Total 163 989 167 200 779 Annual Census 167 200 Niger 97 177 97 800 779 97 800 Women 29 361 421 0 Men 68 439 358 0 1.2.1. Number of farmers New 0 188 0 who have applied Continuing 92 870 591 0 IMPROVED TECHNOLOGIES OR Harnessed CF-FMNR 3 267 0 0 MANAGEMENT Manual CF-FMNR 15 936 0 0 PRACTICES (C) Single FMNR 2 198 0 0 BDL 11 030 0 0 Pastoral or 2 940 0 0 Agricultural CES/DRS Irrigation/gardening 5 869 170 0 USAID|REGIS-ER FY2019 QR1 - page 26
Crop genetics 3 306 334 0 Pest/Disease 979 0 0 management Animal fattening/ 9 307 275 0 Habbanaye Conservation, Harvests, transform., 43 038 0 0 Warrantage, etc. Burkina 66 812 69 400 0 69 400 Women 45 163 0 0 Men 24 237 0 0 New 0 0 0 Continuing 65 400 0 0 Harnessed CF-FMNR 12 372 0 0 Manual CF-FMNR 25 490 0 0 Single FMNR 892 0 0 BDL 6 948 0 0 Pastoral or 5 701 0 0 Agricultural CES/DRS Irrigation/gardening 2 034 0 0 Crop genetics 1 453 0 0 Pest/Disease 695 0 0 management Animal fattening/ 5 558 0 0 Habbanaye Conservation, Harvests, transform., 8 338 0 0 Warrantage, etc. Total 163 989 167 200 779 Annual census USAID|REGIS-ER FY2019 QR1 - page 27
Niger 97 177 97 800 779 Women 68 439 421 Men 29 361 358 New 188 Continuing 591 Harnessed CF-FMNR 0 Manual CF-FMNR 0 Single FMNR 0 BDL 0 Pastoral or EG.3.2-24 Number of Agricultural CES/DRS 0 individuals in the agriculture system who Irrigation/gardening have applied improved 170 management practices or technologies with USG Crop genetics 334 assistance. Pest/Disease management 0 Animal fattening/ Habbanaye 275 Conservation- transformation of products 0 Warrantage- Information on the market 0
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Burkina 66 812 69 400 0 Women 45 163 0 Men 24 237 0 New 0 Continuing 0 Harnessed CF-FMNR 0 Manual CF-FMNR 0 Single FMNR 0 BDL 0 Pastoral or Agricultural CES/DRS 0
Irrigation/gardening 0
Crop genetics 0
Pest/Disease management 0 Animal fattening/ Habbanaye 0 Conservation- transformation of products 0 Warrantage- Information on the market 0
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Total 66 513 70 513 189 Annual census 70 513 Niger 30 175 32 175 189 32 175 Women 5 817 4 0 Men 26 358 184 0 New 2 000 93 0 Continuing 30 175 96 0 Harnessed CF-FMNR 5 111 0 0 Manual CF-FMNR 11 841 0 0 Single FMNR 3 441 0 0 BDL 588 0 0 Pastoral or 4 783 0 0 1.2.2. Number of hectares Agricultural CES/DRS under improved Irrigation/gardening 312 4 0 management practices or Crop genetics 5 567 185 0 technologies with USG Pest/Disease assistance (C) 531 0 0 management Burkina 36 338 38 338 0 38 338 Women 11 300 0 0 Men 27 038 0 0 New 2 000 0 0 Continuing 36 338 0 0 Harnessed CF-FMNR 8 133 0 0 Manual CF-FMNR 20 631 0 0 Single FMNR 45 0 0 BDL 851 0 0 Pastoral or 2 881 0 0 Agricultural CES/DRS
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Irrigation/gardening 62 0 0 Crop genetics 5 705 0 0 Pest/Disease 30 0 0 management Total 66 513 60 800 189 Annual census Niger 30 175 27 500 189 Women 4 817 4 Men 22 683 184 New 93 Continuing 96 Harnessed CF-FMNR 0 Manual CF-FMNR 0 Single FMNR 0 EG.3.2-25 Number of BDL 0 hectares under improved Pastoral or management practices or Agricultural CES/DRS 0 technologies with USG assistance. Irrigation/gardening 4
Crop genetics 185 Pest/Disease management 0 Protected area (soil protection, etc.) 0 Reserve 0 Burkina 36 338 33 300 0 Women 11 300 0 USAID|REGIS-ER FY2019 QR1 - page 31
Men 22 000 0 New 0 Continuing 0 Harnessed CF-FMNR 0 Manual CF-FMNR 0 Single FMNR 0 BDL 0 Pastoral or Agricultural CES/DRS 0
Irrigation/gardening 0
Crop genetics 0 Pest/Disease management 0 Protected area (soil protection, etc.) 0 Reserve 0 Total 397 400 0 Annual census 403
1.2.2.bis.Hectares under Niger 327 330 4 330 new or improved/ Women 150 2 rehabilitated irrigation or Men 180 2 drainage services as a result of USG assistance New 0 0 (disaggregated by new vs Continuing 330 4 continuing) (C) Burkina 70 70 0 73 Women 38 0
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Men 32 0 New 3 0 Continuing 67 0 Total 208 911 8 000 325 325 4% 221 000 Niger 109 889 3 000 297 297 10% 113 000 Women 2 000 273 273 Men 1 000 24 24 Producers 2 910 297 297 People in 50 0 0 1.2.3. Number of government individuals who have CBSPs, Service received USG-supported Providers (private 40 0 0 short-term sector) agricultural sector Burkina 99 022 5 000 28 28 1% 108 000 productivity or food security training (NC) Women 3 500 21 21 Men 1 500 7 7 Producers 4 850 23 23 People in 100 0 0 government CBSPs, Service Providers (private 50 5 5 sector) Total 208 911 8 000 325 325 4% EG.3-2 (1.2.3.bis.) Number Niger 109 889 3 000 297 297 10% of individuals participating Women in USG food security 2 000 273 273 programs. Men 1 000 24 24 Producers 297 297
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People in
government 0 0 CBSPs, Service Providers (private sector) 0 0 Burkina 99 022 5 000 28 28 1% Women 3 500 21 21 Men 1 500 7 7 Producers 23 23 People in government 0 0 CBSPs, Service Providers (private sector) 5 5 Total 10 739 5 220 31 31 1% 10 800 1.2.4. Number of for- Niger 4 786 1 960 0 0 0% 5 000 profit private enterprises, New 0 0 0 producers organizations, Continuing 1 960 0 0 water users Civil society, NGOs, associations, women's 161 0 0 groups, trade and CBOs business associations, and CBSPs 17 0 0 community-based Cooperative 75 0 0 organizations (CBOs) receiving USG food Gardening Group 0 0 security-related CF 776 0 0 organizational BDL 373 0 0 development assistance during the reporting year Habbanaye 164 0 0 (C) Poultry farming 13 0 0 Animal fattening 105 0 0 USAID|REGIS-ER FY2019 QR1 - page 34
Water management 42 0 0 committee Women’s group 0 0 0 NRM Committee 6 0 0 SCAP-RU / CVD 20 0 0 COFOB / CFV 0 0 0 COFOCOM / SFR 1 0 0 Other groups 207 0 0 Burkina 5 953 3 260 31 31 1% 6 013 New 60 16 16 Continuing 3 200 15 15 Civil society, NGOs, 53 0 0 CBOs CBSPs 0 0 0 Cooperative 9 0 0 Gardening Group 0 0 CF 2 549 0 0 BDL 246 0 0 Habbanaye 231 0 0 Poultry farming 17 0 0 Animal fattening 42 0 0 Water management 16 0 0 committee Women’s group 0 0 0 NRM Committee 32 0 0 SCAP-RU / CVD 0 0 0 COFOB / CFV 0 0 0 USAID|REGIS-ER FY2019 QR1 - page 35
COFOCOM / SFR 0 0 0 Other groups 65 31 31 Total 6 557 5 320 24 Annual census 7 000 Niger 2 901 2 650 24 3 000 New 50 0 0 Continuing 2 600 24 0 Civil society, NGOs, 430 0 0 CBOs CBSPs 5 0 0 1.2.5. Number of for- Cooperative 17 1 0 profit private enterprises, CF 1 095 0 0 producers organizations, water users BDL 390 0 0 associations, women’s Pastoral or 100 0 0 groups, trade and Agricultural CES/DRS business associations and Irrigation/gardening 110 4 0 community-based organizations (CBOs) that Habbanaye 378 5 0 applied improved Poultry farming 0 0 0 organization-level Animal fattening 17 14 0 technologies or Water management management practices 0 0 0 with USG assistance (C) committee Women’s group 0 1 0 NRM Committee 5 0 0 SCAP-RU / CVD 12 0 0 COFOB / CFV 0 0 0 COFOCOM / SFR 0 0 0 Other groups 0 0 0 Burkina 3 656 2 670 0 4 000 USAID|REGIS-ER FY2019 QR1 - page 36
New 100 0 0 Continuing 2 570 0 0 Civil society, NGOs, 15 0 0 CBOs CBSPs 0 0 0 Cooperative 6 0 0 CF 200 0 0 BDL 229 0 0 Pastoral or 113 0 0 Agricultural CES/DRS Irrigation/gardening 51 0 0 Habbanaye 119 0 0 Poultry farming 4 0 0 Animal fattening 26 0 0 Water management 0 0 0 committee Women’s group 0 0 0 NRM Committee 4 0 0 SCAP-RU / CVD 0 0 0 COFOB / CFV 0 0 0 COFOCOM / SFR 0 0 0 Other groups 3 0 0 1.2.6. Number of Total (CBSP) 566 390 Annual survey 630 firms/enterprises/CBSPs Niger 369 230 400 involved in service Women 57 70 provision and/or agricultural product Men 173 330 transformation relating to Burkina 197 160 230
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food security now Women 44 47 operating more profitably (at or above cost) (NC) Men 116 183 Total 261 052 51 000 737 737 1% 268 052 Niger 155 562 33 000 472 472 1% 158 562 New 3 000 4 4 0 Continuing 30 000 468 468 0 Female Head of 2 400 37 37 0 household Male Head of 30 600 435 435 0 household 1.2.7. Number of Rural 33 000 472 472 0 households benefiting directly from USG Urban 0 0 0 0 assistance under Feed the Burkina 105 490 18 000 265 265 1% 109 490 Future (C) New 3 000 133 133 0 Continuing 15 000 132 132 0 Female Head of 1 350 69 69 0 household Male Head of 16 650 196 196 0 household Rural 18 000 265 265 0 Urban 0 0 0 0 Intermediate Result 1.3: Improved access to financial services Total 1 992 243 200 000 39 879 39 879 20% 2 140 000 1.3.1 Value of Niger 1 323 751 100 000 27 051 27 051 27% 1 460 000 agricultural and rural Women 44 000 27 051 27 051 loans as a result of USG assistance (in $USD) (NC) Men 56 000 0 - Producers 100 000 27 051 27 051 USAID|REGIS-ER FY2019 QR1 - page 38
Local traders/ 0 - assemblers Others 0 - Burkina 668 491 100 000 12 827 12 827 13% 680 000 Women 38 000 6 632 6 632 Men 62 000 6 196 6 196 Producers 100 000 12 827 12 827 Local traders/ 0 0 - assemblers Others 0 0 - Total 1 992 242 200 000 39 879 39 879 20% Niger 1 323 751 100 000 27 051 27 051 27% Women 27 051 27 051 Men 0 - Amount of loan in cash 27 051 27 051 Amount of loan in- EG.3.2-27 Value of kind 0 - agriculture-related financing assessed as a Amount of donation / result of USG assistance. subsidy 0 - Producers 27 051 27 051 Local traders/ assemblers 0 - Others 0 - Burkina 668 491 100 000 12 827 12 827 13% Femme 6 632 6 632 Homme 6 196 6 196 USAID|REGIS-ER FY2019 QR1 - page 39
Amount of loan in cash 12 827 12 827 Amount of loan in- kind 0 - Amount of donation / subsidy 0 - Producers 12 827 12 827 Local traders/ assemblers 0 - Others 0 - Total 423 844 100 000 2 681 2 681 3% 472 600 Niger 236 805 50 000 2 681 2 681 5% 280 000 Women 40 000 2 681 2 681 1.3.1. bis Value of SECCA Men 10 000 0 - loans (in $USD) (NC) Burkina 187 040 50 000 0 - 0% 192 600 Women 45 000 0 - Men 5 000 0 - Total 1 023 400 0 0 0% 1 200 Niger 571 200 0 0 0% 640
1.3.3. Number of active New 0 0 0 0 informal savings and loan Continuing 200 0 0 0 groups strengthened (C) Burkina 452 200 0 0 0% 560 New 0 0 0 0 Continuing 200 0 0 0 Total 1 675 255 290 000 25 684 25 684 9% 1 920 000 Niger 895 551 145 000 23 999 23 999 17% 1 063 000
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Women 101 500 23 301 23 301 Men 43 500 0 - Savings from SECCA 125 000 18 674 18 674 groups Guarantee Fund 20 000 5 323 5 323
1.3.4. Value of savings Other funds 0 2 2 accumulated by project Burkina 779 704 145 000 1 685 1 685 1% 857 000 beneficiaries (in USD) (NC) Women 101 500 844 844 Men 43 500 841 841 Savings from SECCA 125 000 0 - groups Guarantee Fund 20 000 1 421 1 421 Other funds 0 263 263 Total 947 150 13 13 9% 1 100 1.3.5. Number of micro, Niger 658 50 7 7 14% 750 small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), Women 20 7 7 including farmers, Men 30 0 - receiving agricultural- Burkina 289 100 6 6 6% 350 related credit as a result of USG assistance(NC) Women 50 2 2 Men 50 4 4 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2: Strengthened Governance and Institutions 2.A. Number of Total 119 117 0 130 Annual census community-level plans Niger 61 55 0 based on CL 66 implemented with NRM, implementation conflict management or New 5 0 level DRM components (C) Continuing 50 0
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Commune Development Plan 0 0 (PDC) Management Plan 34 0 for sub-zones Management Plan 14 0 for village land Local Conventions 7 0 Burkina 58 62 0 64 New 6 0 Continuing 58 0 Commune Development Plan 2 0 (PDC)
Management Plan 24 0 for sub-zones
Management Plan 29 0 for village land Local Conventions 7 0 Total 107 650 110 100 170 Annual census 110 750 2.B. Number of people using climate information Niger 46 984 47 300 170 48 084 or implementing risk- Women 20 374 153 reducing actions to Men 26 926 17 improve resilience to climate change as New 1 100 0 supported by USG Continuing 46 200 170 assistance (C) Harnessed CF-FMNR 5 929 0
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Manual CF-FMNR 19 399 0 Single FMNR 2 191 0 BDL 8 923 0 Pastoral or 4 866 0 Agricultural CES/DRS Irrigation/gardening 5 992 170 Burkina 60 666 62 800 0 62 666 Women 32 985 0 Men 29 815 0 New 2 000 0 Continuing 60 800 0 Harnessed CF-FMNR 14 477 0 Manual CF-FMNR 29 028 0 Single FMNR 1 130 0 BDL 10 387 0 Pastoral or 5 906 0 Agricultural CES/DRS Irrigation/gardening 1 872 0
Intermediate Result 2.1: Strengthened natural resource management
Total 815 131 43 43 33% 840 Niger 447 52 6 6 12% 460 2.1.1. Number of institutions, local New 0 0 structures set up or Continuing 6 6 strengthened thank to the Municipal Council 10 6 6 9 USG assistance (NC ) CWG 10 0 0 10 CVD/CLD 20 0 0 349
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Service Providers 12 0 0 12 Other Groups 0 0 0 60 Burkina 368 79 37 37 47% 380 New 16 16 Continuing 21 21 Municipal Council 25 6 6 25 CWG 22 0 0 22 CVD/CLD 20 0 0 172 Service Providers 12 0 0 12 Other Groups 0 31 31 129 Total 9 027 450 0 - 0% 9 550 Niger 3 137 150 0 - 0% 3 550 Women 60 0 - 2.1.2. Number of Men 90 0 - community residents Youth (18-30 years) 0 0 - participating in NRM meetings (NC) Burkina 5 890 300 0 - 0% 6 000 Women 110 0 - Men 190 0 - Youth (18-30 years) 0 0 - Total 1 390 315 2 350 500 0 2 350 500 Annual census Niger 623 580 663 500 0 based on CL 663 500 2.1.3. Number of hectares New 0 implementation under natural resource level Continuing 0 management plans (CL) (C) Burkina 766 735 1 687 000 0 1 687 000 New 0 Continuing 0
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Intermediate Result 2.2: Strengthened disaster risk management
Total 627 100 0 0 0% 800 Niger 556 50 0 0 0% 630 2.2.1. Number of people Women 10 0 0 120 trained in disaster Men 40 0 0 510 preparedness as a result of USG assistance (NC) Burkina 71 50 0 0 0% 170 Women 15 0 0 44 Men 35 0 0 126 Total 18 21 0 Annual census 21 2.2.2. Number of Niger 18 21 0 21 communities with disaster early warning and New 0 0 response (EWR) systems Continuing 21 0 working effectively as a Burkina 0 0 0 0 result of USG assistance(C) New 0 0 Continuing 0 0 Intermediate Result 2.3: Strengthened Conflict Management Total 491 560 0 0 0% 560 Niger 183 230 0 0 0% 230 New 0 0 0 2.3.1. Number of conflict prevention systems, Continuing 233 0 0 conflict assessments, or Conflict prevention 233 0 0 response mechanisms systems supported by USG Conflict assessments assistance (C) 233 0 0 systems
Response mechanism 233 0 0
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Burkina 308 330 0 0 0% 330 New 0 0 0 Continuing 333 0 0 Conflict prevention 333 0 0 systems
Conflict assessments 333 0 0 systems
Response mechanism 333 0 0
Intermediate Result 2.4: Strengthened government and regional capacity and coordination Total 1 4 0 0 0% 4 Niger 1 4 0 0 0% 4
2.4.1. Number of local New 3 0 0 0 conventions integrated Continuing 1 0 0 0 into PDC/PCD (C) Burkina 0 0 0 0 0% 0 New 0 0 0 0 Continuing 0 0 0 0 Total 440 416 12 Annual census 460 Niger 399 374 12 409 New 10 12 0
4D. Number of hectares of Continuing 364 0 0 farmland registered in the Permanent status 88 0 0 name of women (C) Temporary status 296 12 0 Burkina 41 42 0 51 New 10 0 0 Continuing 32 0 0
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Permanent status 26 0 0 Temporary status 16 0 0 STRATEGIC OBJETCIVE 3: Improved health and nutritional status
Intermediate Result 3.1: Increased access to potable water
Total 399 568 0 Annual census 568 Niger 142 253 0 of functional 253 water point 3.1.1.a Number of water Wells 20 0 20 points built or repaired Boreholes 233 0 233 through REGIS-ER (C) Burkina 257 315 0 315 Wells 0 0 0 Boreholes 315 0 315 Total 119 700 157 750 0 157 750 Niger 42 600 63 250 0 63 250 3.1.1.b Number of Wells 5 000 0 5 000 individuals with access to Calculate on the Boreholes 58 250 0 58 250 an improved potable basis of total water source (C) Burkina 77 100 94 500 0 functional water 94 500 points during Wells 0 0 0 the reporting Boreholes 94 500 0 year 94 500 Total 18 232 19 590 0 Annual survey 19 590 Niger 15 247 15 800 0 15 800 3.1.3 a Number of improved sanitation Pit latrine with slab 13 591 0 13 591 facilities built or repaired Ventilated improved 2 209 0 2 209 thanks to USG assistance latrine through REGIS-ER (C) Burkina 2 985 3 790 0 3 790 Pit latrine with slab 3 010 0 3 010
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Ventilated improved 780 0 780 latrine Total 127 624 129 500 0 134 200 Niger 106 729 103 800 0 108 500 Calculate on the Pit latrine with slab 79 639 0 basis of total 84 339 3.1.3.b Number of functional individuals with access to Ventilated improved 24 161 0 improved 24 161 an improved sanitation latrine sanitation facility thanks to USG Burkina 20 895 25 700 0 operational 25 700 assistance(C) during the Pit latrine with slab 20 774 0 20 774 reporting year Ventilated improved 4 926 0 4 926 latrine 3.1.3 c. Number of OFD Total 149 3 2 2 67% 163 villages as a result of USG Niger 114 0 0 0 0% 125 assistance through REGIS- ER (NC) Burkina 35 3 2 2 67% 38
Intermediate Result 3.2: Improved Health and Nutrition Practices
Total 138 359 35 500 153 Annual census 143 859 Niger 89 106 17 000 153 MtM Group 92 106 New 3 000 5 Continuing 14 000 148 3.2.2. Number of children Female 8 840 57 under 5 reached by nutrition programs (C) Male 8 160 96 BCC 17 000 153 Food Supplementation 200 0
Burkina 49 253 18 500 0 51 753
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New 2 500 0 Continuing 16 000 0 Female 9 620 0 Male 8 880 0 BCC 18 500 0 Food 0 0 Supplementation Total 31 849 28 900 30 Annual census 44 300 Niger 13 652 14 700 30 MtM Group 18 800 Female 7 500 16 3.2.2bis Number of Male 7 200 14 children under two (0-23 months) reached with Continuing 11 200 12 community-level nutrition New 3 500 18 interventions through Burkina 18 197 14 200 0 25 500 USG-supported programs (C) Female 7 200 0 Male 7 000 0 Continuing 11 200 0 New 3 000 0 3.2.2.a Number of Total 12 388 1 500 41 41 3% 15 500 pregnant women reached Niger 7 613 1 200 41 41 3% 10 000 with nutrition-specific Nutrition-BCC 1 200 41 41 10 000 interventions through USG-supported programs Burkina 4 775 300 0 0 0% 5 500 (NC) Nutrition-BCC 300 0 0 5 500 Total 303 670 0 159 159 310 000 3.2.4. Number of people Niger 150 591 0 159 159 155 000 trained in child health and Women 0 155 155 136 885
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nutrition thanks to USG Men 0 4 4 18 115 through REGIS-ER (NC) Burkina 153 079 0 0 0 155 000 Women 0 0 0 135 720 Men 0 0 0 19 280
Total 3 938 0 6 6 4 150
Niger 3 288 0 6 6 3 450
Women 0 2 2 2 300
Men 0 4 4 1 150 Degree seeking 3.2.4.bis HL.9-4 Number 0 0 0 0 of individuals receiving trainees nutrition-related Non-Degree seeking 0 6 6 3 450 professional training trainees through USG-supported Burkina 650 0 0 0 700 programs (NC) Women 0 0 0 363
Men 0 0 0 337 Degree seeking 0 0 0 0 trainees Non-Degree seeking 0 0 0 510 trainees
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Annex 2: Results of the assessment of the 2018 growing season on fields where Conservation Farming / Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration (CF/FMNR) were practiced in Niger and Burkina Faso, plus analysis of average yield increase from 2015 to 2018 in the two countries
Comparison of yields during the 2018 growing season where Conservation Farming - Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration (CF-FMNR) was practiced versus the yields where CF-FMNR was not practiced (non-CF) For the assessment of yields during the 2018 growing/rainy season, a new method was adopted to allow Citizen Working Groups in collaboration with Local Development Committees / Village Development Councils (CLD/CVDs) to conduct post-harvest assessment and analysis. This strategy will enable them to take ownership of yield assessments and gain insight into the impact of new technologies on village- level production. Thus, the survey included some 547 producers (Kaya 137, Dori 140, Maradi 105, and Zinder 165), which made it possible to obtain estimates in terms of the number of 100 kg bags harvested per hectare in CF fields compared to non-CF fields for the three crops (sorghum, millet, cowpea). According to the producers surveyed, yields in CF fields are significantly higher than yields in non-CF fields. Yield increases for the 2018 growing season in CF fields vs. non-CF fields ranged from 30 to 71% for sorghum, from 66 to 100% for millet, and from 100 to 176% for cowpea in both countries (Niger and Burkina). The results of this method (post-harvest survey at the producer level) are similar to the results of yield assessments conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture technical services to evaluate the impact of CF- FMNR on the three crops in previous growing seasons (2015, 2016, and 2017): 2015 results: 41 to 76% for sorghum, 53 to 69% for millet, and 88 to 94% for cowpea; 2016 results: 46 to 89% for sorghum, 25 to 109% for millet, and 16 to 112% for cowpea; 2017 results: 55 to 138% for sorghum, 37 to 112% for millet, and 61 to 88% for cowpea.
The following graph shows the CF and non-CF yield results of the assessment of the 2018 growing season in four project regions (two in Burkina Faso and tow in Niger):
Average CF and Non-CF yields: number of 100 kg bags harvested per Yield increases in Kaya: hectare during the 2018 growing season in Niger and in Burkina sorghum 30%, millet 66%, 14 and cowpea 100% 12 Yield increases in Dori: 71% 10 sorghum 71%, millet 100%, 8 and cowpea 100%; 6 Yield increases in Maradi: 4 sorghum 36%, millet 69%, 2 and cowpea 176%; 0 Yield increases in Zinder: Sorgho CF Sorgho non CF Mil CF Mil non CF Niébé CF Niébé Non CF sorghum 61%, millet 67%, Kaya Dori Maradi Zinder and cowpea 108%.
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Analysis of yield increases during the 2015-2018 period on CF-FMNR fields versus non-CF-FMNR fields Overall, based on the results of the CF-FMNR assessments of the yields obtained during the past four growing seasons (the technical services of the Ministry of Agriculture conducted the assessments during the first three growing seasons; the assessments in the past growing season was conducted by means of producer surveys), one can conclude that the practice of CF-FMNR in Burkina Faso and in Niger significantly increases yields -- on average by at least 50% -- compared to non-CF-FMNR practices (i.e., on fields where producers use traditional agricultural practices). .
Yield increases (%) during the 2015-2018 period on CF fields vs. non-CF fields in Burkina and Niger 2015 increase: sorghum 96%, millet 102%, and 140 cowpea 124% ; 120 2016 increase: sorghum 100 87%, millet 89%, and 80 cowpea 98% ; 60 2017 increase: sorghum 40 78%, millet 85%, and 20 cowpea 97% ; 0 2015 2016 2017 2018 2018 increase: sorghum 56%, millet 76%, and Sorgho Mil Niébé cowpea 121%.
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Annex 3: Status of Local Conventions as of December 31, 2018
Coun- Region Com-mune Elaboratio Validation & Signature of Outreach/Sen- Integration of Observations try n of the Adoption of the CL (date)³ sitization on CL⁴ CL into PDC CL¹ the CL (date)⁵ (date/s)² NE REGIS-ER and the Commune agreed that both the CL and the Commune Resilience Plan (Plan Communal pour la Promotion Guidan- de la Résilience, PCPR) will be integrated Maradi completed 17/12/15 04/05/16 completed Roumdji into the Commune Development Plan (PDC/PCD) at the same time by the regional and commune-level teams set up for this purpose. REGIS-ER and the Commune agreed that both the CL and the Commune Resilience Plan (Plan Communal pour la Promotion Sabon de la Résilience, PCPR) will be integrated Maradi completed 16/10/17 13/02/18 completed Machi into the Commune Development Plan (PDC/PCD) at the same time by the regional and commune-level teams set up for this purpose. REGIS-ER has discontinued its work on the Tillabéri Kourthey completed CL here until further notice because of the dysfunction of the Municipal Council. REGIS-ER does not plan to work on a CL Tillabéri Sakoira here. REGIS-ER does not plan to work on a CL Tillabéri Filingué here. Tillabéri Imanan completed 10/05/2018 11/05/2018 The first draft of the CL is available and will be submitted to the Steering first draft Committee in February for validation. Tillabéri Tagazar completed Once the document is validated, the "Special Delegation" will decide whether to adopt the CL.
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Tondi- 07/15 Tillabéri completed 09/02/15 10/02/15 completed kandia REGIS-ER and the Commune agreed that both the CL and the Commune Resilience Plan (Plan Communal pour la Promotion de la Résilience, PCPR) will be integrated Zinder Bandé completed 19/12/17 22/05/18 in progress into the Commune Development Plan (PDC/PCD) at the same time by the regional and commune-level teams set up for this purpose. REGIS-ER and the Commune agreed that both the CL and the Commune Resilience Plan (Plan Communal pour la Promotion de la Résilience, PCPR) will be integrated Zinder Droum completed 26/09/15 17/11/15 completed into the Commune Development Plan (PDC/PCD) at the same time by the regional and commune-level teams set up for this purpose. BF REGIS-ER and the Commune agreed that both the CL and the Commune Resilience Plan (Plan Communal pour la Promotion Centre- de la Résilience, PCPR) will be integrated Barsalogho completed 11/03/16 11/03/16 completed Nord into the Commune Development Plan (PDC/PCD) at the same time by the regional and commune-level teams set up for this purpose. REGIS-ER and the Commune agreed that both the CL and the Commune Resilience Plan (Plan Communal pour la Promotion Centre- de la Résilience, PCPR) will be integrated Bouroum completed 02/06/17 02/06/17 completed Nord into the Commune Development Plan (PDC/PCD) at the same time by the regional and commune-level teams set up for this purpose.
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The CL was adopted by the Municipal Council during the last quarter of FY18. Centre- Nagbingou completed 13/07/18 The date of the signature of the CL is Nord under discussion, but will probably occur during the second quarter of FY19. Validation The signature of the CL was expected Bartié- 04/06/18; during the last quarter of FY18, but it did Est completed bougou Adoption not happen. 18/06/18 REGIS-ER does not plan to work on a CL Est Foutouri here. The commune has begun the dual processes of updating its Commune Validation Development Plan (PCD) and of 24/11/16; Est Gayéri completed 11/04/17 completed incorporating its Local Convention into its Adoption PCD. The commune is receiving technical 27/03/17 assistance from a consulting firm, CERFOM. REGIS-ER and the Commune agreed that both the CL and the Commune Resilience Plan (Plan Communal pour la Promotion de la Résilience, PCPR) will be integrated Est Manni completed 22/11/16 23/05/17 completed into the Commune Development Plan (PDC/PCD) at the same time by the regional and commune-level teams set up for this purpose. The elaboration of the CL was planned in FY17, but the Municipal Council was Sahel Bani dissolved. As of the end of FY18, it is still not functional and the CL process has not begun. REGIS-ER does not plan to work on a CL Sahel Dori here. Validation The signature of the CL was expected 22/05/18; during the last quarter of FY18, but it did Sahel Sampelga completed Adoption not happen. 23/05/18 USAID|REGIS-ER FY2019 QR1 - page 55
Sahel Sebba completed Validation The signature of the CL was expected 29/05/18; during the last quarter of FY18, but it did Adoption not happen. 30/05/18 Sahel Seytenga completed 10/03/16 10/03/16 completed REGIS-ER and the Commune agreed that both the CL and the Commune Resilience Plan (Plan Communal pour la Promotion de la Résilience, PCPR) will be integrated into the Commune Development Plan (PDC/PCD) at the same time by the regional and commune-level teams set up for this purpose. Sahel Solhan REGIS-ER does not plan to work on a CL here. Sahel Tankou- REGIS-ER does not plan to work on a CL gounadié here. Sahel Titabé REGIS-ER does not plan to work on a CL here.
Stages of the Local Convention process: ¹ = CL elaborated. ² = CL validated by the Steering Committee and adopted by the Municipal Council. The 2 events generally occur the same day. (If not, separate dates are given.) Please note that all dates in the table are presented in the international manner: day/month/year. ³ = CL signed by the High Commissioner (BF)/Prefect (NE) and by the Mayor of the Commune. In order for the project to count a CL in indicators 2.A and 2.1.3, the CL must first be signed. (In other words, validation and adoption of the CL are not sufficient for the CL to be counted in the indicators.) ⁴ = Outreach to / awareness-raising of the communities in the commune by various means, including radio, forums, etc. ⁵ = CL integrated into the Commune Development Plan (PDC in NE; PCD in BF)
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Annex 4: REGIS-ER Mid-Term Evaluation Highlights
In May/June 2017, REGIS-ER undertook the data collection for its internal Mid-Term Evaluation (MTE) of 1,200 households in the villages where REGIS-ER has intervened in order to supplement the RISE MTE (conducted in April/May 2017) which had captured only 275 households from REGIS-ER villages. The objective of the data collection was to obtain quantitative data necessary for assessing the outcomes and, where possible, impact of REGIS-ER as an Activity as mandated in the Cooperative Agreement. It should be noted that SAREL (USAID’s learning contractor) was tasked with the baseline and midline and REGIS-ER was instructed by USAID to leave this to SAREL, but the approved SAREL sampling method covered only 11 REGIS-ER villages (each with a cluster of 25 households). While this was judged by USAID not to be an issue since the objective as seen at the time was to assess the outcomes and impacts of the entire RISE initiative and not its component parts, subsequent discussions in 2017 led to the conclusion that it would be useful to conduct a mid-term evaluation of the REGIS-ER Activity itself. Given the history, there is not a specific REGIS-ER baseline. Thus, the REGIS-ER mid-term data can only be compared to the RISE baseline (which was conducted 8-12 months after REGIS-ER began, so is more of a benchmark) and midline data reported by SAREL for High Exposure (RISE/REGIS) villages and Low Exposure (non-RISE/REGIS) villages. While, statistically speaking, this is an imperfect comparison, it is indicative and still instructive. Highlights of the results are presented below. MTE Highlights Note: The two pairs of bars to the left and right are from the SAREL baseline and midline (covering the RISE zone as a whole, including 11 REGIS-ER villages), while the single bar in the middle is from the REGIS-ER MTE and drew its sample from REGIS-ER villages only. REGIS-ER did not conduct its own baseline. Incidence of Comparison villages poverty fared worse over time relative to the baseline, while RISE villages were stable. REGIS-ER villages seemed to have done best as they had lower poverty rates at mid-term than RISE villages (60.8% versus 65.5%).
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Depth of poverty Comparison villages fared worse over time, while RISE villages improved. REGIS-ER villages seemed to have done modestly better as they had lower depth of poverty at mid-term than both RISE villages and comparison villages (23.9% versus about 26.2%). Prevalence of Comparison villages Households with fared worse over time Non-Agricultural (declining from 72% Sources of Income to 69%), while RISE villages improved (rising from 73% at baseline to 77% at mid-term). REGIS-ER villages had a prevalence of 75% at mid-term.
Among households Among the with increased households income, percent experiencing an saying it was due to increase in non- REGIS-ER agricultural income over the previous three years, one- third of Burkina households and 70% of Niger households attributed this to the REGIS-ER Activity. Exclusive REGIS-ER villages had nominally higher levels of Exclusive Breastfeeding at mid- breastfeeding term than comparison villages (33.8% versus 31.7%).
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Improved Comparison villages sanitation system fared worse over time relative to the baseline (16.2% initially, declining to 14.5%), while RISE villages improved (21.6% initially, rising to 24.3%). REGIS-ER villages seemed to have done best as the percentage of households having improved sanitation systems was 35.4% at mid-term. Soap and Water The percent of Hand Washing households with soap- Station and-water hand washing stations declined between 2015 and 2017 in all groups. This may have been due to a waning of the temporary surge in hand washing that accompanied the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014. The decline in the RISE/REGIS villages was less pronounced than in the non-RISE/REGIS villages.
Individual RISE villages and engagement with comparison villages local authorities/ remained essentially power structures unchanged between baseline and mid-term at 12-13% of house- holds, while 18% of households in REGIS- ER villages were found to be engaging regularly with local authorities.
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Prevalence of Households in moderate or severe comparison villages hunger held steady at about 18% while REGIS-ER households had a 10% prevalence rate.
Use of improved While comparison drinking water villages saw an source improvement from an initial 65% of households at baseline to 70% at mid-term, REGIS-ER villages reached a level of 83% at mid- term.
Membership in a Slightly over 50% of households in the sampled REGIS-ER villages had at least REGIS-ER one household member who participates regularly in one or more of the supported (or groups REGIS-ER supports. This breaks down as 56% in Niger and 45% in created) group Burkina Faso. Examples of these groups are Mother-to-Mother (MtM), Self- managed community savings and loan system (SECCA), Community Quality Improvement Teams (EAQs), Husband Schools (EdM), Bio-reclamation of Degraded Lands (BDL), Adolescent Girls’ Learning and Support Groups (GASA), etc. MtM and SECCA were the most prevalent with 26% and 19% of households in the sample villages participating. Support for equal In the comparison access to social, villages, about 32% of economic and household political respondents opportunities for supported this view males and females and this remained constant over time. In the RISE villages, the percentage increased from baseline to mid- term (37% rising to 46%) while in the REGIS-ER villages the percentage stood at 37.7% at mid-term.
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Women Reporting At mid-term, REGIS- Effective ER villages scored Participation in much higher with Production and respect to effective Income-Generation participation by Decisions women in production and income generation decision- making (81.7%) than both the RISE (74.6%) and comparison villages (71.0%). The RISE villages were slightly better off with respect to this indicator than the comparison villages. Women’s Self- One adult woman was interviewed in each household and read a Efficacy series of statements with which she would indicate her level of Assessment agreement or disagreement using a Likert scale. Half of the questions were positive statements and half were negative. The results are depicted in the charts. With a few exceptions, well over half of the women interviewed (57- 62%, depending on the particular statement) assessed themselves as capable, competent, strong and successful.
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Annex 5: Success story Women reap the benefits of land tenure in Burkina Faso and Niger
After spending years rehabilitating a parcel of land, a group of women in Burkina Faso wanted to solidify their access by securing formal rights to the land they had worked. In much of the country, this process is full of barriers. But in some regions, this is changing, and providing a secure foundation for diversified incomes and livelihoods. A group of nearly 100 women farmers will soon receive their land rights for a two-hectare field in a small village in Barsalogho Commune of Centre-Nord region of Burkina Faso. Obtaining a Rural Land Tenure Ownership Deed, known as an APFR (French acronym), will solidify their rights to the land they have brought back to life. Before the Nakomgo Village women’s This women’s group using Bio-Reclamation of Degraded Land group started farming, the land was techniques in Nakomgo will soon get its formal land rights fallow, having lost its soil fertility. A deed. October 2018. (Photo credit: REGIS-ER) villager gifted them the land to experiment with various techniques known as bio-reclamation of degraded lands (BDL). Working to build resilience in the region, the USAID|REGIS-ER project trained the women in these BDL techniques and now they are able to grow drought-resistant crops like sesame and sorrel, as well as cucumber and rice. “The soil was poor at the start. The project helped us negotiate for the land and trained us in these techniques. We worked a lot on this field and want to make sure no one can take it back from us now that we have made the soil productive again,” explained the group. Indeed, access to land for women and vulnerable groups is complex in Burkina Faso. Many times, BDL sites are allocated as loans for a limited period of time. Women working these fields are then at risk of losing the fruits of their labor once the lands have been restored and are fertile again. Partnering with the National Observatory of Land Tenure in Burkina Faso, the USAID|REGIS-ER project, which NCBA CLUSA implements in both Burkina Faso and Niger, worked to secure the land for women’s groups by obtaining legal documents like APFRs in 5 communes3 in Burkina Faso. With official ownership, women and other vulnerable groups can safely benefit from the lands they restored in their journey to self-reliance. They can also use the land as collateral to access loans and diversify their incomes. Working with the local government, the Nakomgo women got the formal agreement from the land donor that he was not planning to take back the land. With this, they could start the official transfer of
3 Barsalogho and Bouroum (Centre-Nord region), Seytenga (Sahel region), Manni and Gayéri (Est region) USAID|REGIS-ER FY2019 QR1 - page 62
ownership. The government came and recorded data about the land, and they are now in the process of receiving their APFR land tenure document. In Burkina Faso, the 034-2009/AN law of 16th June 2009 clearly frames the delivery of this deed granting legal possession to the land. In fact, however, this law is hardly applied since communes require financial means and technical skills to establish and operationalize e their rural land service and the village land commissions. To support this process across communities, the project and partners trained local commune governments in deed-granting rights and laws as well as the technical skills to establish a rural land service and village land commissions. More than 225 civil servants, locally elected leaders and religious leaders were trained on the tenure law; 10 agents were recruited and trained; and 216 village land commissions were established and are ready to play their role in delivering land tenure documents. For Barsalogho commune, where the Nakomgo women’s BDL site is located, they now have 75 village level land commissions. The commune also has a trained land tenure agent, who took office in May 2018, to support the application process. The commune land tenure agent officially took an oath in May 2018 at the Regional High Court, which is important for the commune service to fully enter into force. In the commune, 22 BDL sites, covering over 25 hectares, have already been marked and recorded in the land ownership data base. Over 80% of the communes of Centre-Nord region beyond the project zone of intervention do not have these services. “We are ready to take up the challenge of securing land transparently and without conflict,” said Abdoulaye Pafadnam, Barsalogho Commune’s mayor. Beyond institutional strengthening, USAID|REGIS-ER and the National Observatory also enhanced technical capacities with training on the MAST Tool (Mobile Application to Secure Tenure). With a participatory on-the-ground approach, the tool enables rural land tenure services to collect and manage data on land rights and resource information. Fatimata Ouedraogo, a land tenure agent in the Sahel region appreciates the practical benefits of the tool. She can collect spatial, multimedia data about plots of land and natural resources directly, and quickly, on site. She can now delineate up to 50 plots of land over two weeks on her own. “I save a lot of time. I feel more efficient and I can address requests for land registration properly,” said Fatimata. “It is truly motivating for me and encouraging Delineating a plot of land thanks to the MAST tool in Seytenga, for my clients.” 2018 (Photo credit: ONF-BF) To date, agents like Fatimata have been able to delineate over 70 hectares for 64 BDL sites, providing land tenure rights for over 3,000 women in the three communes of Barsalogho, Bouroum and Seytenga. Beyond BDL farming sites, these agents have also been able to demarcate land for 19 pastoral sites (537 hectares) for use as common spaces, just like forests and livestock corridors, providing the data to USAID|REGIS-ER FY2019 QR1 - page 63
support (commune-level) local conventions on natural resource management, another key aspect of building resilience in the region. Seytenga commune even registered 48 individual APFR requests, showing that the action reached people beyond women working on BDL sites, the initial target group. For the women in Nakomgo village, their APFR land tenure document should be approved and delivered soon after a compulsory 45-day period for publicizing land tenure transactions. This period is required to allow neighboring land owners to raise any potential objections. This approach greatly reduces any potential land tenure conflicts that could otherwise stretch out over time or lead to violence. The Nakomgo BDL group will have to also pay taxes related to the deed delivery4. “We are ready, we collected the 31 250 CFA ($54) for the delivery fees”, said Bamogo Zambedé, the president of the group. “The securing of our site will give us the confidence to farm the land peacefully, to focus on setting up and maintaining the site and on crop diversification.” With their management capacity, technical tools for demarcating land and newly reclaimed lands, groups like the one in Nakomgo are setting up resilient, sustainable futures around their lands for their families and communities.
4 City halls are fixing taxes amounts, between 9,000 (15 USD) and 23, 000 FCFA (40 USD) for 1 hectare. USAID|REGIS-ER FY2019 QR1 - page 64