Satara, Niger — In the bustling village of Satara, Niger, Haruna Badjie was once just another farmer struggling to make a living in the face of environmental and ecological crises.
Climate change had ravaged the once-fertile landscapes, leaving them barren and unproductive. For Haruna and many others, the only hope for a better life lay in migrating to other areas in search of greener pastures. However, all that changed when the World Food Programme (WFP) introduced a revolutionary community-based asset creation program designed to restore the ecosystem and assist the poorest communities in Niger.
The intervention aims to create productive assets through a land restoration program that uses the half-moon technique to restore vegetation on previously arid lands. The half-moon technique involves digging crescent-shaped basins that help parched and degraded soils retain rainwater longer. The excavated soil is then deposited on the downhill edges of each pond, forming terrace systems that help distribute water evenly and support the surrounding vegetation. This technique has been successful in restoring degraded lands and promoting sustainable land use practices in communities.
Along with land recovery measures, the intervention includes several support activities that promote community resilience and environmental sustainability. For instance, it encourages market gardening - a sustainable agricultural activity that involves the small-scale production of high-nutritional-value crops such as fruits, vegetables, and herbs for sale or consumption.
Through this initiative, the WFP is building livelihoods, boosting resilience to ecosystem degradation, and restoring ecological balance. In a place where deforestation, over-cultivation, and overgrazing were rampant, the WFP's land restoration activities have transformed the landscape, bringing back biodiversity and reviving the once-dead vegetation.
For Haruna, this program has been nothing short of life-changing. No longer does he need to travel to Benin in search of better opportunities. Instead, he can thrive in Satara, thanks to the WFP's promotion of market gardening and increased land productivity.
"Being a farmer, I was identified by the project managers of WFP as one of the most vulnerable individuals in the village. I used to travel to Benin in search of work, but it was not sufficient to support my needs. When I learned about the WFP program, I stopped going to Benin and started concentrating on market gardening activities here," Haruna said.
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However, the impending lean season threatens to undermine much of the progress achieved so far. Thus, Cindy McCain, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies in Rome, is calling for additional donor support for Niger's food security.
She believes that urgent and dependable assistance is required to help the Government of Niger and its partners address the root causes of hunger and implement long-term reforms in the lives of women, men, and children affected by the food crisis.
