AfDB Approves $127m Loan To Boost Farming In Eastern Niger

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved funding of $127.8 million to develop and improve access to farming and pastoral lands in the eastern part of Niger Republic, along its border with Nigeria.
The funding package which was approved by the Board of Directors of the African Development Fund, the Bank’s concessional arm, comprises a loan of $71 million and a grant of $56.8 million.
The loan will be used for the implementation of the integrated project that is aimed at opening up the production areas of Hamdara-Wacha-Dungass on the Nigerian border
The Zinder region in eastern Niger, where the project will be implemented, is an area of mixed farming where stock breeding is combined with widespread crop cultivation. It encompasses the rural communities of Hamdara, Wacha and Dungass, which has a population of over 360,000 (180,000 women) as of 2021. The project will also benefit people living along the border with neighboring Nigeria.
The project has the primary goal of improving a 110-kilometer road. This is a key route joining inter-state areas that will contribute to improving transport links to areas with considerable potential for agriculture, forestry, and livestock farming.
Moreover, it also entails improving the Hamdara-Wacha-Dungass-Nigerian border road, including environmental protection measures, associated improvements, particularly the restoration and construction of socioeconomic infrastructure, the construction of 150 kilometers of associated rural roads, and five kilometers of roadways in the town of Dungass.
In addition, the project will support farming value chains (construction of a farmers’ center and stock-vaccination centers, installation of dairy units, etc.) and will support women and young people
AfDB’s Director General for West Africa, Marie Laure Akin-Olugbade said the project is one of the priority projects within the national transport strategy of the West African nation. “It is intended to maximize the benefits gained from the wealth of resources and opportunities offered by this region, which will amplify its impact on development, improve the resilience of those living there, and contribute, through the growth it generates, to the transformation of the rural setting”, he said.
Meanwhile, the Bank’s current portfolio in Niger comprises 13 active operations with a total net commitment of $631.7 million.