Seeding a climate resilient future: creating markets for irrigation technologies in Niger

The Niger Irrigation Project (NIP) was one of four projects identified in Niger’s Strategic Program for Climate Resilience (SPCR) funded by the CIF’s Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR). The purpose of the NIP was to test new small-scale irrigation techniques through the private sector that would engender beneficiary acceptance and support, and promote sustainable agriculture, while creating conditions for private sector involvement in the agricultural sector through potential public-private partnerships.

The NIP seeks to utilize both underground and surface water resources to pilot private sector-led small-scale irrigation schemes in local communities in Niger. USD 1.5 million in PPCR concessional financing was used to support these schemes, which could be replicated in the future without further subsidies. IFC, as the implementing entity of the NIP, provided a PPCR grant to a competitively selected a private sector company, Netafim, to provide drip irrigation equipment to farmers and to create the foundation for irrigation market development in Niger.