📋 Tender Overview
The Government of Niger and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) recently approved additional financing for the Family Farming Development Programme in the Maradi, Tohoua and Zinder Regions (ProDAF MTZ) and the Family Farming Development Programme in the Diffa Region (ProDAF Diffa). These agreements were signed by Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Finance, representing the Government of the Republic of Niger, and Bernard Hien, IFAD Regional Director for West and Central Africa. This additional financing crowns years of successful implementation of the ProDAF MTZ and ProDAF Diffa projects. Successful investments have been made in areas and activities such as watershed management, support for the adaptation of rainfed agriculture to climate change, development of irrigated crops, strengthening organizational and institutional capacities for producers, promoting womens leadership and improving nutritional security, developing commercial infrastructure, supporting infrastructure management and developing cross-border trade.
With the additional financing provided to these projects, IFAD and the Government will jointly expand these successful development investments to enable local populations to carry out their production activities, which will lead to improved food security and a more resilient life. Both projects are considered flagship initiatives and structuring investments in the intervention regions, said Bernard Hien. Additional funding of USD 40 million is planned for ProDAF Diffa, whose initial intervention area will be extended to all municipalities in the Diffa region and four departments in the neighboring Agadez region. These funds will make it possible to reach an additional 40,000 households (20,000 in the Diffa region and 20,000 in the Agadez region), bringing the total number of beneficiary households to 63,000. In a context where promoting equity among the local population is essential to maintaining civil and social peace, refugees, returnees or displaced persons will be specifically targeted. The second envelope of USD 40 million will allow ProDAF MTZ to intervene in three regions, Maradi, Tahoua and Zinder, and in three new areas in the Dosso region. A total of 24 communities will be targeted. The project will thus be able to reach its initial target of 290,000 households, including 20,000 rural households in the Dosso region.
The total cost of ProDAF MTZ and ProDAF Diffa, including additional financing, is estimated at USD 286.1 million and USD 116.7 million, respectively.
These two projects aim at a profound rural transformation focused on strengthening sustainable family farming and improving access to markets, through interventions focused on poor rural communities. Their objective is a sustainable improvement in income, adaptation to climate change and access to markets for family farms, as well as the socio-economic integration of refugee or displaced populations in host communities. They are thus in line with Nigers new ambition in terms of endogenous development as defined in the countrys Resilience Program. They also reflect IFADs and the UNs commitment to scaling up investments to accelerate food systems transformation and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
IFAD has been working with Niger since 1980: a total of 15 programmes and projects have benefited at least 1.3 million households, for a total amount of USD 949.2 million.
