Niger

Our impact

Context

In Niger, Socodevi has been working for over a decade to strengthen food security, women’s empowerment, and climate resilience. Interventions cover Tahoua, Niamey, Agadez, and six other rural regions, in partnership with national and international institutions. Projects aim to improve access to resources, food security, gender equality, and communities’ adaptive capacity in the face of climate change.

Objectives and expected results

  • Strengthen food security and reduce households’ vulnerability to food and economic crises.
  • Increase the climate and economic resilience of rural and urban communities through evidence-based adaptation strategies (risk analyses, climate models, PCI).
  • Strengthen productive capacities and sustainability of agricultural and livestock value chains (rice, cocoa, onion, cowpea, livestock) through resilient and agroecological practices and adapted technologies/infrastructure.
  • Strengthen inclusive governance and the professionalization of co-operatives, unions and organizations by improving management, member services and leadership.
  • Economically empower women, young women and adolescent girls through training, entrepreneurship, access to productive resources, and technical and financial support.
  • Promote financial inclusion (savings, credit, digitalization) and facilitate access to dedicated funds to strengthen livelihoods and entrepreneurship.
  • Support digitalization and access to climate information (advisory services, seed systems, digital tools) to enhance decision-making and adaptation.

Sectors of activity

  • Food security
  • Climate resilience
  • Women’s and adolescent girls’ empowerment
  • Local development
  • Economic empowerment
  • Health
  • Gender equality
  • Climate change adaptation
  • Digitalization
  • Access to finance
  • Agricultural advisory services
  • Financial inclusion

Results and impacts

In summary

  • Since 2009, Socodevi has contributed to transforming rural Nigerien communities through major, long-term projects, each generating significant and lasting change. Following a first landmark intervention between 2009 and 2013, the organization resumed activities in Niger in 2023, continuing its commitment to local development. At the outset, food insecurity was chronic, women and youth had limited access to resources, training and decision-making, and producers faced high climate and economic vulnerability. Thanks to Socodevi’s support and that of its partners, the situation has improved significantly.

Strengthening food security and household resilience

  • Through the Women and Food Security project, more than 231,000 people gained improved access to quality food products thanks to the creation of 85 food security committees and 87 cereal banks. Income-generating activities—such as distributing small ruminants and developing market gardening sites—enabled many households, primarily women, to rebuild their savings and meet their needs during the 2010 and 2011 food crises. Agricultural yields increased by 20 to 30% in three communes, contributing to improved food security and poverty reduction in the Tahoua region.

Economic and social empowerment of women and adolescent girls

  • The DEVENIR project supports more than 18,500 women and young women on their empowerment journey. Twenty-two Women’s Groups, Unions and Networks (GURF) have been strengthened, enabling better organization, increased access to land and financing, and the development of income-generating activities. Trained women participate more in decision-making within their groups and are recognized in their communities for their leadership and ability to innovate.

Modernizing agriculture and adapting to climate change

  • Through the Support Project for the Development of Irrigated Crops and the Intensification of Animal Production (PACIPA) (LAMP), Socodevi provided strategic technical support to modernize agriculture and livestock production in six regions of Niger. Socodevi’s expertise helped integrate climate adaptation into agricultural policies, promote the use of resilient seeds, support the digitalization of agricultural advisory services, and facilitate access to credit and insurance for producers. This project indirectly reaches 5 million people through food security outcomes and 3 million through climate resilience outcomes, contributing to building a more sustainable and inclusive agricultural sector.

Testimonials

“ I am one of the women from the Sourou ga kanou co-operative society of the Douré union supported by the Devenir Project, and I took part in several training sessions. I received training in entrepreneurship, including financial education and women’s leadership. After this training, I was able to open a small kiosk near my home, which allowed me to restart selling snacks and other products such as milk and tea. The Devenir Project gave me the opportunity to take out a loan, which helped strengthen and expand my income-generating activity and meet my family’s basic needs. ”

  • Aoua Karimou
    Participant, Devenir Project Niger (Niamey – 5th Municipal District)

“ The union, specialized in agro-food processing, grew from 50 to 154 members, enabling many women to get involved and become more autonomous. Project support helped structure the organization, access management tools, and receive training in entrepreneurship, women’s leadership and good environmental practices. Participation in the women’s entrepreneurship fair (SAFEM) increased visibility and sales, with orders reaching international markets. Financial support and the use of a mobile application secured resources and enabled the development of income-generating activities. Women can now contribute to their families’ basic needs and gain true financial independence. ”

  • Maimouna Ali
    President, Assabor Union in Niger

Projects in Niger

DEVENIR

This innovative project, implemented in Niger by Socodevi in consortium with Médecins du Monde—in a country classified as a fragile state since 2008 by the OECD and among the poorest in the world—proposes an integrated approach to improve women’s and adolescent girls’ access to health care while strengthening their economic power. Its objective: ensuring that […]
  • Funded by:
    Global Affairs Canada
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Partners

Funders

  • Global Affairs Canada
  • Global Center on Adaptation
  • World Bank

Consortium partners

  • Médecins du Monde
  • Garkua
  • International Agricultural Alliance

Contact

Niger Office
MdM Belgique
Quartier Koira Kano sis 132, Rue 134, commune 1
Niamey, Niger

Countries where we work

Colombia

In Colombia, Socodevi has been supporting for more than a decade the professionalization of rural economic organizations, the upgrading of the cocoa value chain, and the strengthening of agricultural and financial services, with a consistent focus on gender equality and the inclusion of Indigenous peoples. Our interventions cover the entire value chain—from inputs and production […]

  • Funded by:
    Global Affairs Canada
Learn more

Ukraine

Since 2008, Socodevi and its Ukrainian partners have been working to professionalize dairy and grain value chains, strengthen the co-operative movement and, since 2022, increase the resilience of rural families—particularly women and displaced people—facing war.

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Vietnam

Vietnam is a country where Socodevi has been active for more than two decades, working to strengthen the co-operative sector, improve rural livelihoods, and promote both social and economic inclusion. Projects focus on diversifying and increasing income, improving co-operative governance, supporting women’s entrepreneurship, and promoting biodiversity.

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