JP RWEE strengthens rural women's empowerment through irrigated crops in Niger

In the period from October 2024 to March 2025, the JP RWEE in Niger supported rural women in the Dosso and Maradi regions by distributing irrigated seeds (cabbage, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes, and groundnuts) and providing training on production, preservation, processing, and marketing techniques.

The programme has provided local in the garden preparation and the application of organic background manure, nursery and direct seeding techniques, transplanting, crop maintenance, harvesting, storage and conservation. 

The 1,000 households supported in the 40 villages of the Dosso and Maradi regions produced more than 40 tons of market garden products, most of which were sold in local markets. The participating women and their households diversified their diet through the consumption of part of the harvests and sold most of their production for an average amount of 25,000 francs (approx. 44 USD) per woman. The income obtained was used to buy small ruminants for fattening and to carry out petty trade. To finance certain activities that require resources, the participating women have organized themselves into the Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) to grant each other credit, develop collective IGAs and strengthen mutual aid and social cohesion. 

The women are delighted with the results obtained on irrigated crops and do not fail to talk about them. "My production allowed me to meet my family's additional food needs and to buy a goat that has already kidded. Without this support, I would not have been able to buy anything because in my village women are waiting for their husbands to do everything," said Amina Hama from the village of Fabirdji Zarma, 50, married and mother of 5 children, including 3 daughters. 

As for Hamsatou Abdou from the village of Fabirdji, 60 years old, married and mother of 8 children including 4 daughters, 6 grandsons, says that market garden production has also made it possible to diversify the diet within households. "My children are no longer malnourished and benefit from my financial support in their schooling, whereas before they could not claim such benefits. In addition, I was able, with the income from the sale of my market garden products, to buy a sheep that had given birth. All three will give birth in two months, and my flock of sheep will grow." 

In the Dosso region, the women's group "Union Aniya", made up of 106 women, established a tontine saving system where each woman contributes shares. This contribution are made possible thanks to the income they earn from selling vegetables grown in their one-hectare gardens. " The first collection was 200,000 francs (approx. 356 USD), which was then renewed several times. The women beneficiaries of loans have become traders of processed products. Some have joined forces to start a groundnut processing unit into oil and biscuit, others are involved in the transformation of cowpea into biscuit, in short, thanks to the support of the RWEE programme, we now have work that brings us a lot of income," said the president of the "Aniya Union" Gambina Amadou from the village of Fabidji Zarma.  

The illustration is generated by Open AI.