Niger village gets help from UNDP

Niger Gets UNDP Help

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have pledged to help the Tarka Valley on central Niger as part of its initiative to help developing nations across five continents in its five year US$4.5 million project.

The program will be deployed in 10 pilot countries in an effort to catalyze institutional changes and help local communities adapt to climate change. The program is in partnership with the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Small Grants Program, UN Volunteers, the Government of Japan, AusAID, and local NGOs.

The three communities in the Tarka Valley will be awarded with a US$23,000 grant to help them access the necessary local and national technical expertise. This initial fund will be used to stimulate the development of baseline needs and will aim to prepare villagers for the challenges presented by climate change such as drought and land degradation, while also improving local livelihoods.

Enhance crop yields while improving soil fertility

A local NGO called Contribution à l'Education de Base is overseeing implementation, in partnership with local communities, and introducing farming techniques that enhance crop yields while improving soil fertility.

Small projects began during the last growing season when farmers started field-testing quick-maturing varieties of local staple crops developed at the National Agricultural Research Institute in Niger.

With help from other programmes such as training courses in soil conservation and the safe use of pesticides, crop yields have already started to improve despite limited rainfall. Progress will be sustained by the implementation of future programmes such as building a community-managed stash of agricultural inputs and providing the poorest households with animal-drawn plows.

The best way to help developing countries fight the effects of climate change is to assist them in becoming self-sufficient in increasing productivity and therefore ensuring food security. Many local communities will be unaware of their own impact on climate change, so training them to avoid using harmful methods such as deforestation will be highly valuable.

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