Ensuring the next harvest
A seed fair was organized in October 2024. It enabled the distribution of seeds suitable for the next harvest to 1,400 households in the worst-affected communities.
This was to compensate for losses due to the summer’s severe flooding. “Because of the heavy rains, my whole field was ravaged, I lost everything and I wasn’t able to feed my children. Normally, I harvest 120 bunches of millet per season. This year, I only had 10. For sorghum, it’s worse, I haven’t managed to save anything”, reports Iliassou Labarane, 28 and father of four.
For him and many others, market gardening is now becoming a serious alternative to compensate for losses and provide food for their families.
2024_inodation_Niger_Illiassou Labarane
Because of the heavy rains, my whole field was ravaged, I lost everything and I wasn’t able to feed my children. Normally, I harvest 120 bunches of millet per season. This year, I only had 10. For sorghum, it’s worse, I haven’t managed to save anything
Iliassou Labarane, 28 and father of four children.
Situation worsens again
Severe flooding struck the Sahel region in September. 339 people died in Niger. Over 300,000 people lost their homes and livestock as well as the vital next harvest due to the torrential rain.
A hunger crisis was already looming in Niger in the summer, as many families no longer had sufficient supplies. SWISSAID therefore expanded its emergency aid and distributed food parcels and seeds in numerous communities in the country. This progress is now jeopardised by the devastating floods.
To prevent the situation from worsening again, we want to provide over 8,400 people in the communities of Dankassari, Matankari and Soucoucoutane with fast-growing vegetable seeds. In the long term, the cultivation of climate-adapted and robust varieties will ensure a healthy and balanced diet, even in times of crisis.
Flooded fields in the project regions
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Emergency aid reaches more communities
Two months to go until the next harvest! But many families have already used up the last of their supplies. In their distress, they are eating the last of their seeds, which cannot be sown again for the next harvest. More than 40 per cent of the villages in Niger are now threatened by acute hunger. SWISSAID is therefore continuing the emergency aid project. The distribution of food parcels and seeds has now also reached the communities of Dankassari, Matankari and Soucoucoutane. This has enabled a further 1,400 households to benefit. In addition to the distribution of goods, chosen smallholder farmers are also trained in agroecological cultivation, for example in the production and use of organic fertiliser. This boosts the yields of smallholder farmers and enables them to overcome the climate crisis on their own.
“SWISSAID’s emergency aid helps me to ensure the survival of my children.”
Fati Adamou, smallholder farmer in Gogueze, Niger
Over 2,000 farmers benefit from seed fair
At the beginning of April, SWISSAID extended its emergency aid in Niger to other communities. In addition to distributing food parcels in the Dosso and Tillabéry regions, seed fairs are also being organised. As part of this aid, the rainfed seed fair was launched in Margou Bene on 20 May 2024. At the four-day fair organised by SWISSAID, over 2,000 farmers were able to purchase high-quality seed in the form of a voucher and redeem it on site.
“The fair offers farmers the opportunity to buy high-quality seed and exhibitors the chance to showcase their products,” explains Maizama Issoufou, Chairman of the Association of Private Seed Producers. The special rainfed seed is optimal, it is often more resistant to drought and adapted to the local climatic conditions. The initiative has been warmly welcomed by local and regional authorities and traditional leaders.
To the report on Nigerien television: TV report: Emergency seed fair May 2024
Participants at the seed fair in Margou Bene
Niger, one of the world’s poorest countries, experiences repeated droughts. At the end of 2023, long months of heat were followed by heavy rains. The arid soils were unable to absorb the water, leading to flooding.
To help the population, SWISSAID initially distributed food parcels in the worst-affected regions of Niger. Between December 2023 and March 2024, an emergency project supported 1,750 vulnerable families (12,250 people) in the Dosso and Tillabéri regions with food and seeds.
Last season, thanks to SWISSAID seeds, my fields produced a reasonable quantity, but not enough to build up reserves. I wondered how I was going to survive until next season. The SWISSAID food parcels came at just the right time. My family and I will have enough to eat. I thank SWISSAID for its assistance in our village. Without SWISSAID, our grandchildren would be victims of malnutrition.
Fati Amadou , 58, widow with four children in the village of Fabidji
As I’m ill and have had three operations, I can’t work and my husband died. Before the food parcels arrived, I had nothing to eat, but my neighbors provided me with food. The SWISSAID project gave me precious help for a few weeks. We widows need help to feed our children.
Katoumi Hima, 45, widow with three children in the village of Fabidji
Nous avons encore besoin de vos dons !
Despite the aid, the situation remains critical. Worse still, it is likely to worsen over the coming months. In early April, SWISSAID decided to extend its emergency aid to other villages and communes in need. An additional 1,400 households (around 9,800 people) will be supported in 20 villages in the communes of Matankari, Dan-Kassari and Soucoucoutane.
Beneficiaries will be selected in the same way as in previous years, i.e. by selecting particularly vulnerable people: single mothers with dependent children, people with disabilities, chronic illnesses and the elderly. The overall aim is to strengthen family resilience.
