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Joint Evaluation of the Cooperation of the European Commission KINGDOM OF BELGIUM Federal Public Service JOINT EVALUATION OFTHE COOPERATION OFTHE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, BELGIUM, DENMARK, FRANCE AND LUXEMBOURG WITH NIGER BETWEEN Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation KINGDOM OF BELGIUM Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Special Evaluation Offi ce of International Cooperation Egmont • Rue des Petits Carmes 15, B-1000 Brussels • + 32 2 (0)2 501 38 34 • www.diplomatie.belgium.be • www.dg-d.be • [email protected] Un autre regard sur les politiques Legal registration : 0218/2010/50 see Un autre regard see sur les politiques JOINT EVALUATION OF THE COOPERATION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, BELGIUM, DENMARK, FRANCE AND LUXEMBOURG WITH NIGER BETWEEN 2000 - 2008 Final report Volume 1 – Main report Second revised edition (Original: French) Report commissioned by the Special Evaluation Unit of the Federal Public Service for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Kingdom of Belgium for the group of donors made up of Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg and the European Commission. Luxembourg, August 2010 Consortium led by see Société d’Etudes et d’Evaluation sarl 241 Route de Longwy L1941 Luxembourg www.see-policies.eu JOINT EVALUATION OF THE COOPERATION WITH NIGER 2000-2008 Table of contents VOLUME 1 - MAIN REPORT LIST OF ACRONYMS ....................................................................................................................................................................... 3 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 1. MANDATE OF THE EVALUATION ...................................................................................................................................... 11 1.1. A joint evaluation .................................................................................................................................................... 11 1.2. Scope of evaluation ................................................................................................................................................ 12 1.3. Evaluation monitoring ............................................................................................................................................ 12 1.4. Parallel perception survey by LASDEL .................................................................................................................... 12 2. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................................................13 2.1. Strengths of the evaluation ................................................................................................................................... 14 2.2. Weaknesses of the evaluation ................................................................................................................................15 3. DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES IN NIGER .......................................................................................................................... 19 3.1. Geography and climate .......................................................................................................................................... 19 3.1.1. A vast, land-locked country bordered by Nigeria ....................................................................... 19 3.1.2. A harsh, instable and deteriorating agro-climatic context ......................................................... 20 3.2. Population and poverty .......................................................................................................................................... 21 3.2.1. One of the highest population growth rates in the world .......................................................... 21 3.2.2. Chronic food insecurity ................................................................................................................ 21 3.2.3. One of the poorest populations in the world, facing a worsening situation............................. 22 3.2.4. Rural economy in permanent crisis ............................................................................................. 24 3.2.5. Mining products, an asset which is still not used to its full potential ........................................ 25 3.2.6. A very low level of education ...................................................................................................... 25 3.2.7. Less developed migration trends than in some other Sahelian countries ................................ 25 3.2.8. Niger belongs to a solid monetary area… Is it too solid?........................................................... 26 3.2.9. Close economic integration with Nigeria and other coastal countries ...................................... 26 3.2.10. Economic integration hindered by an insufficient transport network ...................................... 27 3.3. The Nigerien State.................................................................................................................................................. 27 3.3.1. The political stability experienced during the period of evaluation has recently been undermined.................................................................................................................................. 27 3.3.2. A decentralisation process which is still in its early stages and not very advanced .................. 28 3.3.3. A better controlled State budget, but which still depends a lot on foreign aid ........................ 28 3.3.4. More formal policies .................................................................................................................... 29 3.4. SWOT analysis ........................................................................................................................................................ 30 4. GOVERNMENT STRATEGIES AND DPE RESPONSES ........................................................................................................ 32 4.1. Niger’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, a framework to adapt to development challenges .................................. 32 4.2. General strategies of the DPEs with Niger ............................................................................................................ 33 4.2.1. Belgium ........................................................................................................................................ 33 4.2.2. European Commission ................................................................................................................. 35 4.2.3. France........................................................................................................................................... 37 4.2.4. Denmark....................................................................................................................................... 39 4.2.5. Luxembourg ................................................................................................................................ 40 4.3. Financial commitments of the DPEs in Niger ........................................................................................................ 41 4.3.1. Weight of aid granted by DPEs in Niger ...................................................................................... 42 4.3.2. Regional distribution of aid by the DPEs in Niger ....................................................................... 43 4.3.3. Sectoral distribution of aid by the DPEs in Niger ........................................................................ 45 5. ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................................................................................... 47 5.1. An approach based on 11 evaluation questions .................................................................................................... 47 5.2. Two complementary analysis frameworks ........................................................................................................... 48 5.3. First analysis framework: Implementation of the Paris Declaration Commitments ............................................ 50 5.3.1. Paris Declaration: implied hypotheses .........................................................................................51 5.3.2. The concept of cooperation area ................................................................................................ 53 1 JOINT EVALUATION OF THE COOPERATION WITH NIGER 2000-2008 5.3.3. The cooperation cycle ................................................................................................................. 55 5.3.4. What deductions can be made regarding the Paris Declaration Commitments? ...................... 63 5.4. Second analysis framework: the DAC evaluation criteria ...................................................................................... 71 5.4.1. Relevance ...................................................................................................................................... 71 5.4.2. Coherence .................................................................................................................................... 73 5.4.3. Effectiveness ...............................................................................................................................
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