More than nine million people in Niger live on less than one dollar a day. Between 60 and 80 percent are dependent on rain-fed agriculture for their lives and livelihoods. The country has suffered from droughts for seven of the last 40 years, leaving it extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Today, one in five households face severe food insecurity, and 12 percent of children under age five are affected by acute malnutrition.  
 

Although the government has attempted to implement a range of critical reforms in recent years, it has not been successful in reducing the country’s vulnerability to climate shocks. Niger’s selection as a PPCR pilot will help the country to bolster national programs and development strategies aimed at making it more climate resilient.  
 

A PPCR stocktaking analysis and widespread consultations with stakeholders identified a number of key priorities. These include developing an insurance system to reduce agricultural and livestock risks, integrating climate change into planning and decision-making processes, improving climate modeling and data, improving water resource management and erosion control, and coordinating the country’s ongoing climate change programs and activities.  
 

The government, through PPCR support, has recognized that the country’s most urgent vulnerabilities are intertwined with its ability to cope with and plan for climate variability. The government is proposing to utilize PPCR investments to— 
 

• Strengthen weather and climate forecasting and early warning systems. The project will be implemented through AfDB’s ClimDev-Africa program.

• Expand water resource management through two programs that AfDB is currently implementing in the country.

• Improve rural livelihoods, increase sustainable land management, develop crop insurance and farm cooperatives, and build local government capacity to integrate climate change issues into local development plans and investment strategies. PPCR will help strengthen the activities of phase two of the World Bank’s Community Actions Program by better integrating climate change in the program’s approach.   

Win support of the government’s program, IFC will work with the private sector to expand water management infrastructure, increase the distribution of climate-resilient seed, and build a dry port to make the country more self-sufficient. IFC will also explore opportunities to engage the private sector in the expansion of food distribution networks and other transportation infrastructure.  
 

Expected Results: With the help of CIF grants and highly concessional credits, Niger will improve early warning systems, manage scare water resources, reduce the risk of climate-related agricultural losses, and disseminate climate information in local languages to inform decision making.