The road to the village is bumpy and sandy. However, for those who live here, the road and the intense heat are part of everyday life.
The high temperatures did not stop Foureyratou Saidou, a single mother of four children and widow, from taking care of the community garden next to the village. She said the reward was worth it.
“In this garden, we grow and harvest onions, tomatoes, lettuce and other vegetables that we eat and can sell at the local market,” she said. “Before, we didn’t have much to live for. Now we do, and we don’t want to leave.
Ms. Saidou is one of thousands of farmers benefiting from the World Food Program (WARD).WFP) built-in recovery programlaunched almost a decade ago in Niger and four other Sahel countries – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Mauritania.
A woman waters a community garden under the hot sun in Satara, Niger.
harvest of hope
She is also among the millions of women farmers around the world who are reaping hope on the eve of the pandemic. World Day Against Desertification and Droughtobserved on June 17. Her leafy garden represents a step towards making farming a livelihood.
Supporting the national priorities of the Niger government and in partnership with a wide range of United Nations and non-governmental partners, the WFP initiative covers areas such as land reclamation, livelihood diversification, and meals. school feeding, nutritional interventions, improved agricultural production and market access.
To date, the effort is helping 3 million people across the Sahel region, including 1.8 million people in 2,000 villages in Niger last year, better prepare for and recover from numerous shocks that have a relationship with each other. interrelated, including climate change, land degradation, skyrocketing prices and conflict.
The women sell the leftovers from their garden at a local market in the Tillaberi region of Niger.
turn the table
According to the agency, in areas severely affected by the ongoing food crisis, 80% of villages benefiting from WFP recovery operations will not need humanitarian assistance by 2022. That means about 500,000 people don’t need emergency assistance, or save about $30 million, according to the United Nations agency.
Unregulated nationally, the programs also promote women’s participation and empowerment, with a strong focus on areas with the highest food insecurity that tend to face conflict or large concentration of displaced people, increasing demand for scarce resources.
Initiatives include soil reclamation, which uses innovative techniques such as semicircle digging to slow and retain rainwater runoff, which improves crop growth.
More than 233,000 hectares have been restored to date since the initiative was initiated in 2014, WFP is now planning to expand into new areas and equip more people with the tools they need. .
Tools for development
The agency says such efforts are vital, as newly released expert findings suggest acute food insecurity in the Sahel is expected to reach a 10-year high. year in June, the agency said. In Niger, the findings predict that around 3.3 million people will experience severe hunger during the grain harvest season from June to August, up from 2.5 million currently.
Jean-Noel Gentile, WFP Country Director in Niger, said: “Turning around these numbers requires not only short-term actions, but above all, stakeholders working together to implement meaningful solutions. more transformative and sustainable at an impactful scale”. “Through our integrated restoration projects, WFP, along with government and partners, are working together to empower vulnerable populations so they have the tools they need to thrive.”
‘It all starts with the land’
WFP has ramped up restoration operations in Niger, after results showed it restored natural resources, increased farm revenue, reduced migration and conflicts over scarce resources, and improve education and nutrition.
“It all starts with the land,” said Volli Carucci, WFP’s head of rehabilitation. “Without productive land, there is no food production. Land is the starting point of sustainable food systems that communities can count on.”
Such is the case in Satara, where a community gardening initiative supported by WFP has transformed once barren land.
An aerial view of WFP-supported community gardens in the Tillaberi region of Niger, as part of a broader, multi-partner Sahel restoration initiative.
Reasons to stay
Ms. Saidou is now a member of a village market cooperative that sells the surplus of the garden, in addition to what the members keep to feed their families, at the local market.
The UN’s food agency says profits go back to village-level investments to improve land productivity. It is also one of many examples where WFP is better linking farmers to markets and expanding their profits and overall access to food.
While many men have left villages like Satara to find work, Ms. Saidou now sees a reason to stay.
“I am working for the good health of my children and giving them a chance to study and stay in our village,” she said. “I want the garden to get bigger and bigger, so that we have more goods to sell and have more income to invest in our family and community.”
Community role model
Around the village of Gaffati in southeastern Niger, for example, about 300 people are participating in a WFP-supported reforestation project. They found acacia trees, native shrubs and forage grasses sprouting across an area barren from seasonal droughts, floods, overgrazing and other harms. custom.
“I am determined to teach other women everything I have learned over the years about how to cook healthy and nutritious meals to raise children, and how to take care of yourself as a mother,” said Alia. Issaka, 40 years old, single said. mother of eight who enrolled in a community-based nutrition program.
“Being a role model for the community is not an easy job,” said Issaka, who also heads a local women’s association. “However, I feel a responsibility, so that more women can participate in decision making and improve the health of their families.”
Learn more about WFP’s work in Niger This.
Women work on a WFP land reclamation project in Niger that promotes reforestation and provides products such as fodder that participants can sell.
