Summary and comments-report of Niger on socioeconomic development

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION AFR,ICAN REGTON EXPERT ADVISORY @MMITTEE Fourth meeting Bouak6. 26-3O September 1983 OR.GANISATION MONDIALE DE LA SANTE REGION DE TAFR,IQI,JE ONCHOCERCIASIS CONTROL PROGRAMME IN THE VOLTA RTVER BASIN APAA PROGRAMME DE LUTTE CONTRE L'ONCHOCERCOSE DANS LA REGION DU BASSIN DE LA VOLTA Til.: 333.12 - 329.10- 338.57- Tdlix ONCHO 5241 W i t , 2. of 11 943 The kn2 Say arrondissement, whi.ch constitutes Niger's onchocerciasis zone, covers an area ' with a popuLation which increased from 95 OOO in L977 to LO4 982 in 1982. iItIi ocP/EAC4.69 ORIGINAL: FRENCI1 SUMMARY AND COMMENTS - REPORT OF NIGER ON SOCIOECONOMIC DEVEIOPMENT I. Sumtary 1. Ihe report consists mainly of a presentation of socioeconomi-c devel-opment actlvities carried out in the Say arrondissement, some of the activities coming under, and others outside,the Say Project. Ttrere is an introduction describing the report's objectives, the present status of the Say project and the operational difficulties of the National Conrmittee. Basicdata on the arrondissement are also provided. From an area of low population density prior to the inception of the progranune as a result of three main factors - onchocerciasis being the major factor and the others being qrater shortage and the area's land-locked situation - Say has now become the centre of a mass and sPontaneous influx of people from other areas of the country, particularly Niamey, Ouallam,Filingu6 and Dosso, and is carrying out a number of development activities: it has become attsubcentre of developmenttr and r?an exporter of grain to the eastrr. 3. Arnong the major developnrent activities may be mentioned: 3.1 Two major agricuLtural projects aimed at achieving seLf-sufficiency in food under theFive-Year Economic and Social Development plan for 1979-1983. 3.1.1 Say hydro-agricultural development. This project, covering an area of 3oo hectares, of which 297 hectares have been developed, was carried out with Belgian financing and completed in LgTg/Lg8O. Six hundred growers .." "rr...ntly producing approximately2376 towres of paddy, representing a yield of 4 tonnes per hectare. The exportabl,e surplus sent to Niamey i.s at least 2OOO tonnes. 3.1.2 The Niamey productivity project, which was extended to the western part of the arronlisser.nent only in 1981, and which provides for infrastructures (two dwellings, an office, a technical training centre for 40 students, four cooperative stores, a borehole and thelogistic suPPorE of two vehicles) at a cost of 72 119 053 CFA francs; purchases of agricultural equip,ment at a cost of 13 3L7 9OO CFA francs; seed and fertilizer at a cost of 2 9L3 25o CFAfrancs; and activities for the trainlng and organization of the rural population through 15 cooperatives to be equipped with stores, seven of which have already been bui1t. 3.2 A number of mini-projects supported by nongovernmental organizations (N@s), andprimarily concerned with market gardeninS, at an overall cost of 1.37 billion CFA francs. 3.3 An ongoing project for the hydro-agricul,tural development of 23O hectares of land atTiaguirir6. * ocP/EAc4.68 Page 2 3.4 In the mining area, a W phosphate feasibility study at francs, carried out in 1981 with cofinancing by ACDI and Niger. study, concerning iron at Say, with cofinancing in an amount of UNDP, Niger and Nigeria. 3.5 Conununication and hotel infrastructures for opening up tourism. a cost of 475 million CFA A further prd-feasibility 2O4.3 million CFA francs from the region and devel-oping 3.5.1 Surfacing of the Niamey-Say-Upper Volta road (1-1-8 lcm), at a cost of 7 billion CFA francs financed by the Federal RepubJ.ic of Germany; study for the Say-Tapoa sector and for an airfield at Tapoa with a l-2O0 m runway. 3.5.2 Construction of a tourist hotel at Tapoa in irSSt/t}82 at a cost of 1 billion CFA francs financed from national funds, with 27 bungalows and 12 cabins. 3.6 Educational activities: the school attendance rate is nott 25%. 3.7 In the health field, the arrondissement now has seven dispensaries - four newLy-built and three reconstructed. fhe ratlo of dispensary or medical centre to population has improved from 1:L9 oL2 ro 1:14 586. 3.8 Stock-breeding: as an intermediate zone in herd movements and a gtazing area for animals from neighbouring countries, the arrondissement has called for a trypanosomiasis camPaign, a vaccination campaign against plague and peripneumonia and the construction of an addttional vaccination pen. In aLl,174 7O5 cattle were covered in 1983, wtren the number belonging to the arrondissement was estimated at 124 467. In L979, the arrondissement hed 115 ooo cattle, and the vaccination campaign covered a total of 116 256. - 3.9 In the r^rater sector, the region has a programne for Ehe sinking of L65 borehole3, L26 of vfiich were completed between 1979 and 1982. 3.10 lhe ongoing construction of the Islamic University at Say, which will receive 3Ooo students during the first phase, will entail a number of electrification and hydro-agricultural development activities, at a total cost of 21L5.50 miLLion cFA francs. II. Conments 1. The layout of the rePort is based on the standard document transmitted to states for the purpose. rhe p1-ace given to the national plan is modest, however. 2. Ihe report is accompanied by a map, dating back to L979, and relating only to health, education and r^rater. Reports should be accompanied by up-to-date maps relating to alL devel.opment activities, including economic and social projects. 3. The report does not include technical project data. These data were requested to assist in the establishment of the socioeconomlc data bank of the prograrune's Economic Developnrent Unit. 4. The report notes that there has been a |tveritable apathytr towards the flnancing of the Say Project since its t'trial operationrrin 198o. It states that, apart from the studles carrled out with LJNDP financing within a ceiling of US$ 5OO OOo, rrno other activities have materializedrr. The report admittedly also describes the operati.onal difficulties of theNational Committee, which is said to have held no meeting. If this does not explain theforegoing situation, ways and means should be suggested for supporting the country's efforts to find financing for develop,ment activities in the areas freed from onchocerciasis. ! t 0 a t l at t REPUBLIC OF NIGER MINISTRY OF PLAT{NING DIRXCTORATE OF PROGRAI',IMES AND PLAI{NING SAY PROJECT: ECONOMIC REPORT MAY 1983 I. INTRODUCTION Ttre formuLation of a report on socioeconomic develop,rrent in the areas freed from onchocerciasis should meet certain requirements: - it shoul,d facilitate an understanding of overall developrnent activlties under the onchocerciasis control progranrne; and - it should provide more information for contributors of funds. The report might thus be divided into t\ro main parts - one part deaLing with activittes, and the other with proposed projects - and should briefly recapitulate achievements, ongolng projects and future needs. This approach meets the concern for harmonizing the various reports formulated by the count.ries concerned. If such a layout is to be followed, however, this presupposes that the development activities carried out under the prograuure in alL the countrles concerned show some dynamism. this is, unfortunately, not the case, and r*rere Niger, in particular, is concerned a veritable apathy towards the financing of the Say project is at present apparent. Thus, si.nce it is impossible to give an account of activities carried out under the Say project and designed specifically for the development of the areas freed from onchocerciasis, the invest- ment efforts made by Niger under its national developarent plan in relation to the Say arrondissement may be described together with achievements under other projects. It will be noted that the activitles undertaken have often focused on the achievement of obJectives assigned to the Say project. llith respect to the functioning of the National Cotrmittee, it must be pointed out that no meeting of the Cornmittee's various members has ever been held. the Ministry of Planning and the Minj.stry of Public Health and Social Affairs are follorrlng the case individually. Lastly, in formulating the present report, cross references will be given wtrenever possible in order to avoid useless repetition of urhat has already been elaborated upon in the 198O report. II. BASIC DATA This section will provide a brief summary of the general situation in the Say arrondi.ssement. This arrondissement, covering an area of 11 943 1qn4,ls situated in the southern part of the Niamey d6partement. Its population, estimated at 95 O0O in ttte L977 general census, and 104 982 in the 1982 agricultural statistics, is of the low density of approximately six persons per km2, despite the area's good isohyetal position between 6O0 and 8OO rmn, wtrich makes it one of the best watered places in Niger. the area thus has great agricultural potential and abundant pasture land, and also considerable mining potential. Ttre existence of virtually unpopulated areas in Say is therefore regrettable. Following recent developments, such as an appeal by the highest political authorities for a return to the land, and an emphasis on the capri.ci.ous climatic conditions in the rest of the country'the@!isnowsubjecttoamassiveinf1uxofpopu1ationfromtherestof the d6partement - particularly from the arrondissements of Ouallam and Filingu6 - and al.so from other d6partemenEs, such as Dosso. -2- At the same time, various officials, traders, etc. from the capital have moved in great numbers to this as yet virgin zone freed from onchocerciasis, in order to clear extensive areas of land, largely for mi11et production. It has become increasingly certain that veryfew new cases of the disease have occurred. The population movement accords directly wlththe national objectives, foremosE among which is the effort for self-sufficiency in food, butthis dynamic movement has come about sponLaneously and with no prior organization forpopulating and developing the land that has become available. Mention should also be made ofthe future Islamic University at Say, wtrich is at present in an advanced stage of construction. In this situaLion, it is appropriate to take a look at the activities carried out or in course of implementation in this subregion so as to identify the mai,n centres of interest towards which future efforts should be directed. III. DEVE],OPMENT OF THE AREA TfiO POINTS FOR ANAI,YSIS 1. Activiti.es carried out under the Say project. Two developments may be reported:first, activities carried out under the Say project as such. With the exception of the studies carried out with UNDP financing within the Us$ 5oo ooo placed at the disposal.of each of the seven countries in the Progranrne (cf. report of September I"98O, pp. 4 and 5) , thefinancing problem has prevented any activities from materiaLizing. The other development is r,ilrat has been called the rrtrial operationrr, which the authotities of the d6partement recormnended with a view to relaunching the neglected Say project. Thls action, however, was unsuccessful, also because of the problem of financing. 2. Achievements made through other channels: State and other sources of financing. The activities concerned are those that have been impLemented or are in course of implementation, whether within or outslde the five-year econornic and social development planfor 1979-1983. (a) Agriculture: the objectives for the agriculturaL sector, which have remained unchanged, are: - increased production of food crops, such as millet and sorghum, through the provision of fertilizers and intensive use of technical methods; - diversification of market garden crops. Food production support is being given in two directions: (a) 1. Say hydro-agricultural development Development of the Say hydro-agricultural area, covering 3OO hectares, of which 297 hectares have been developed, is part of Niger's general policy for self-sufficiency infood, and is aimed at increased grain producEion in the region in particular and in the country ln generaL, and at raising the standard of living of the people concerned. The project was implemented with Belgian financing at a cost of approximately 2 billlon CFA francs, and was completed Ln L979/L98O. Since then, 5OO growers have been produclng two harvests annua11y, with an approximate yield of 4ooo kg of paddy per hectare. A rapid calculation will give a clearer idea of the impact of the Say Basin development: at a yield of 4 tonnes per hectare and two harvests annually, current annual producti,on of paddy amounts to approximately 297 x 8 tonnes - a total of 2376 tonnes of paddy annual]y. In 1981, the National Credit and Cooperative Union (U"i"" ""ti"""t" a.coop6ration) (UNCC) distributed 350 tonnes to the families concerned (cf. economic study of the Niamey-Say roaddevelopment, September 1981, p. 11). Ttrus, the annual exportable surplus of paddy since L98L/L982, largeLy destined for Niamey, can be reckoned at 2OOO tonnes. { a a It It -3- Ttre rural engineering services have prepared the figures for an extension of the area by 10O hectares, and the cost of the operation has been estimated at approximately 612 million CFA francs, but unfortunatel-y there is no provision for such financlng. A11 these efforts are directed towards the objectives set in Ehe Five-Year Plan: to increase annual grain production in the arrondissemen! by 20 OOO tonnes through the use of fungicides, fertilizer and crop prote"ti;;;;[m;. There can be no doubr rhatrrsay can become a subcentre for developrnentrr and ila reglonal exporter of grain to the east[ (economi.c study of the Niamey-Say road, p. 14). With respect to activities in course of lmplementation, a 23O hectare hydro-agricultural developnent is planned at Tiaguirird, and will probably be financed by the European Develop,ment Fund (EDF). (a) 2. Nlamey productivity project: USAID. with counterpart conEribution from Niger Initially this project covered onl-y three of the six arrondissements in the d6partement. rn order to fill the space left by the say project, th. tuiffiffir,ning gare its approval in 1981 for the Niamey productivity project to cover the western part of the Say arrondissement. Activities carried out in this connection for the 1982 agricultural campaign: 1. Infrastructures: - 2 dwellings; - 1 office; - 1 technical training centre (centre de perfecEionnement technique (CPT) for the training of 20 peasant couples annually); - 4 cooperaEive stores; - l borehole. 2. Logi.stic support: - 2 technical service support vehicles. ltre cost of these activities was 72 119 O53 CFA francs. 3. Agricultural equipment: various items of agricultural equipment were provided to the rural conrnunity at a cost of 13 317 9O0 CFA francs. 4. Seed and fertilizers: these were distributed in the following amounts at a cost of 2 943 25O CFA francs: - 49 850 tonnes of super triple; - 14 tonnes of urea; - 1 tonne of millet; - 2OO kg of sorghum; - 45 OOO packets of fungicide. 5. Training: during the 1982 campaign, a CPT, from which @ well-trained students (men and women) rrere to be turned out, was establiehed. The cost of maintaining each student is estimated at 1 million CFA francs per campaign. Five assistant instructors have been trained to provide extensj.on services and follow-up outside the CPT. -4- With the completion of the CPT at Gu61adio, a great step forarard has been made towatds the training of peasants, wtrose attendance is indispensable to the success of the proposed actlvities. In accordance with the new optlon for the establishment of a development society at Say, the Say arrondisseEenrq organized 15 cooperatives, which will have to be provided with cooperative stores. Four cooperative stores tlave already been built under the Ntamey productivity project, two wlth FED and USAID funds under the national grain project, and one provided by OXFAM. Since the new option envisages the assignment of responsibility to peasants, these gtores will make it possible for the cooperatives to take over control of their stocks, which malnly consist of: fertilizers ; marketable products; essential foodstuffs. The stores will aLso serve as offices and meeEing rooms. Ttre diversificaEion of market-garden crops is largely envisaged from the standpoint of action under various mini-projects financed by nongovernmental organizations (N@s). The sltuation will be examined hereunder. (a) 3. Other agricultural projects Agricultural mini-projects financed by nongovernmenEal organizations incLude: - Ihe mini-project entiEled trDeveLopment of market-garden cultivation in the Kobadi6 marsh areatt, financed by the Organisation des vol-ontaires des Pays-Bas (OVPB)(Netherlands volunteer organi.zation), at a cost of 7 7OO OOO CFA francs. This mini-project, which started in 198O, was designed for the development of L5 hectares of land in the Kobadid marsh area for the production of potatoes, tomatoes, pimento, onlons and gourds. Sixty members of the rural conrmuni.ty were involved iu the operation. Ten hectares of land were made available for use by 40 growers. - Makalondi - sma1l integrated rural activity project. This project covers fi-ve maj.n sectors: - promotion of ani.mal traction: - promotion of gardening and arborieulture; - constructlon and mai-ntenance of viLlage wel1s; - support for midwives and first-aid workers; - rural road development. The prograrme for L979-L982, estlmated at 48 million CFA francs, is supported by the nongovernmental organization Mis616or. - Mini-project for the development of market-gardening and fruit cuLtivation in the Torodi region. T a , a Financing of 33 milllon CFA francs in particular at the training of market - Mini-project for an agricultural the main objective of this project around Makalondi. -5- is provtded by OXFAM and EEC. The project is directed gardeners and support for cooperatives. training centre at Miniaba. is to train young farmers within an area of 20-25 lorn to (b) (b) Financing for the project is provided by the Association esp6rance at an estimated overalL cost of 15 million CFA francs. Eighty pupils have been tralned and qualified since the start of activities in 1971-. The actlvities of these bodies are highLy appreciated-by the people concerned because they are flexible and speedy enough to meet the peasants' requirements. The activities accord well with the new national guldeLines whlch attach great importance market-garden activities. Other achievements under the Five-Year PLan 1. Mining - Phosphate W feasibllity studies carrled out in 1981 by ACOf^liger ar a cosr of 475 milLion CFA francs. - Iron prefeasibility study for Say, for wtrich a total of 204 30O OOO CFA francs has been expended. Ihe study is financed from three sources: Niger, Nigeria and UNDP. (b) 2. Infrastructures - Surfacing of the Niamey-Torodi-Upper Volta road (1L8 km), completed in May 1983 at atotal cost of 7 bilLion CFA francs, financed by the FederaL Republic of Germany. A study for the Say-Tapoa section has been made. The arrondissement is being opened up with the completion of the t\^ro main highways - Niamey-Say-Tamou, and Niamey-Torodi-Upper Volta - and wtth the developnent of rural roadslinking these Ewo highways. the keenness with which these infrastructures are being provided ls expLalned by the concern to respond appropriately to rapidly growing needs. In 1976, traffic on the Niamey-Say road was stlll only sporadic, while by 1981 it was fairly regular, largely as a result of the completion of hydro-agriculLural developrnents, of the Tiaguirir6 ranch, of the development of tourism and of the ongoing work on the Islamic University. - Tapoa tourist hotel, built h LgBL/Lg82 at a total cost exceeding 1 billion CFA francs, financed from national funds. with its 27 bungalows and 12 cabins, this tourist village can accommodate 80 holiday- makers. - Tapoa airfield: a 12OO m runway has been laid.t tr , -6- (b) 3. Considerable efforts have also been made in education. The schooL attendance rate has been brought up above the national objective of 25% with the completion of 56 new primary classrooms. The construction of 15 new CEG (CollEge d'enseignement g6n6ra1) (general trsining colLege) classrooms has made it possible t.o bring the number of students up from 4l-5 in L979 xo 875 in 1982. (b) 4. Health A number of dispensaries were buiLt between L979 and L982. - Ahealth complex, including a dispensary and maternity unit rras built at Say, and dispensaries at Gu6Ladio, Tombo16 and BoLsi. - Dispensaries were also built at Tamou, Makalondi and Torodi. In addition to the lnfrastructures already in existence, the arrondissement now has seven dispensaries and oedical centres, some of them situated in fair1y remote areas. This has made it possible to bring down the ratio of dispensary or medical centre to population from L:19 012 to t:14 586, *rich is a reasonabLy satisfactory result. Under the village hrere trained during the The onty source of has requested that this consolidation progranrne Eraining sector of the programne, 39 first-aid workers and 4L midrrlves same period. dissat.isfaction is the lack of referral facilities. The d6partement need should be taken into conslderation in the provisional tor L984/L985. (b) 5. Stock-breedlng there is a slight falling array from the objectives. Efforts are at present being made in two major directions and in one other, complementary direction. They concern: - the ca:npaign against animal trypanosomiasis and other parasites. In view of the proximity of the river, there is a considerable need for antiparasite activities, ruhich are therefore carried out on a permanent basis I - vaccination campaigns against cattle plague and peripneumonia. On account of its situation, the Say arrondissgment is an intermediate zone for herd movements and a grazLtg area for animals from B6nin, Upper Volta and Niger. Ihis situation calLs for constant surveillance and adequate resources. The activities are carried out i.n two phases: - an initial vaccination campai.gn conducted during the cold season with EDF financing; - a second campaign to foll.ow up the flrst campaign, with financing from the Niger national, budget. The following resul.ts may be cited: - in 1979 there were 1L5 OOO cattle belonging to the arrondissement and the vaccination campaign covered LL6 256 animals. In L983 L74 705 cattle were covered, those belonging to the arrondissement numberLng L24 467. t * a These activitles could not be carried out properly without pursuing the third objectlve: -7- - the construction of vaccination pens. Particular attentlon hqs ahrays been focused on ways and means of providlng a minimum protection for Livestock belonging to Niger andfor foreign livestock pasturing tn Niger. It must be pointed out that the existenceof trypanosomiasi.s and other parasitic diseases limits the economic benefits of the onchocerciasis campalgn because of the low economic value of sick animals. Jointactivities should therefore be pursued by states. ftrere were already eight vaccination pens ln the Say ar{ondissemer}t, and a further pen lras constructed at Bokki, in the Tamou dlstrict,, in 198o. A *"bil. #;;ilrich will make itpossible to cover other centres which have not yet been equipped, has just been purchased underthe Niamey productivity project. A ranch with a caPacity for approxtmately Tooo animals has been in operation since october 1981. rt covers an area of 8LO hectares and was financed by the FederaL Republic of Germany. (c) Water resources Ttrere are varlous Ttre Say arrondissement With these achievements, Eogether wi_th provided in other ways, it can be said that acute, is on the way to being solved. Lastty, it should be pointed out thar through hydrogeological studies carried,out(cf. report of November 198O, p. 5). water resource Progr€mmes, usually cgvering several d_Epartements at once.ls thus concerned in five serles of prograrmnes: - 1oO boreholes at Liptako, financed by FAC, CCCE and Ntger; ar say and Tera 11o boringshave been made with positive resul.ts; - 2oO boreholes in the d.6parjement. of Niamey, financed by ADB and Niger; 27 positiveborings have been mede at Torodi (Say); - 1O0O boreholes in the Niamey-Maradi-Zinder area, fi.nanced by BUE, EFCF, CCCE and Niger; 295 positive borings have been made in the Ntamey dfparte,mgnt; - 23 deep boreholes for AEP (Al,imentation en eau potabls). Five have been completed,including one at say. rhe progranrne is flnanced by tfre Federal Republic of bermany andNiger; - 20 boreholes at Liptako. Ihls prograrmre relates eolely to the Say arroqdissement andis entlrely suPPorted by the Ratlonal budget in an amount of 50 million cFA fir;E. Seven positive borings were mede in L981. Under these programnes, as a whole, 165 boreholes were planned for the Say arrondissement and 126 were sunk during the period L979-L982. the waEer-points already in existence and those the water supply problem, which in this area hTas the sinking of these borehoLes was made possible with USAID financing, at a cosr of USg 23O OOO I * ) (d) Activities carried out outg_ide thF plan - Topographical survey for the Ntamey-Say road. Construction of Say-Torodi largely helped in attaining rural road (65 kn) in 1992; the construcri.on of this section two objectives: potent.ial of western Say;- opening up the agricuLtural - doing away with the long detoqr via Niamey for travellers from Say to Torodi and Makal.ondi; -8- - Say Islamic University, under construction, with an estimated capacity of 3OOO students for the first phase. Construction of this university wil1 inevitably entail a number of other activities. In Ehe energy sector, the following activities are under r^ray or envisaged very shortly: - electrificatlon of the town of Say, at a total cost of 60.5 million CFA francs. Year and payment due (million CFA francs) L984 r985 10 250 30 250 Anticlpated financing: from Niger or any other sorrrce. - Niamey-Say line, designed to serve the Islamic University, the tor^7ns of Ko11o and Say and hydro-agricultural developments, at an estimated cost of 2055 million CFA francs. This project is in course of implementation. Year and palrment due (million CFA francs) Before 1984 L984 1985 1 000 755 300 Financing: Niger and a Belgian grant.. IV. CONCLUSION At the time of formulation of the Say project document, the Say arrondissement had the following features: - with 59 OOO inhabitants, Say hadra particularly low population density raEe of betlreen four and five inhabitants per lcn'. It was thus possible to traverse areas that rrrere virtually unpopulated although they had enormous agricultural and pastoral potentlal. Three main factors were seen to be responsible for thls anomaly: - the health problem arising from the presence of the onchocerciasis vector and of trypanosomiasis ; - water shortage; - the area's land-locked situation. The Say arrondissement now presents entirely different features. While the Say project as formuLated was unable to secure sufficient financing, many of the activities carrled out or under way are sufficientLy in line with those proposed to remove the obstacles and enabLe the conurrnity to play lts fu1l part for the wellbeing of the people of Niger. , ; I a ? o tt -9- With a PoPul.ation nol estlrnated at over 10O O0O great improvernents have been made. Tothis situation should be added the strong pressure exerted by the inhabltants of the capltalfor develoPment of cultlvatlon in the subzone, and the spontaneous migratton of people from other arrgndi'ssements and from the d6partement of Doseo, for wtrlch no statisti.cs have yet been drawn up. This rapid change was made posslbl.e by the briLliant results achieved ln removlng the malnbottlenecks. Thus, the Say arrondi.seement ls already moving from its posltlon as an importer of ricefrom the capital t"Jf,ffif exporrer. rn addltion, through the support of nongovernmentaL organizatlons, impressive reeultshave been obtalned, particularly in potato productlon, for wtrich a marketing problem isbeginntng to cause some concern. I t ; I I l