Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoUnifeed
NIGER / FOOD CRISIS
STORY: NIGER / FOOD CRISIS
TRT: 3.13
SOURCE: FAO
RESTRICTIONS:
LANGUAGE: FRENCH / NATS
DATELINE: 25, 31 MAY 2010, NIGER
1. Various shots, rural landscape
2. Wide shot, women walking
3. Med shot, Ox tilling the field
4. Med shot, farmer walking among oxen
5. Wide shot, women in the field
6. Med shot, huts on a village
7. Med shot, woman pounding grain
8. Wide shot, people waiting outside a cereal bank
9. Wide shot, people picking up sacks of g rain
10. Pan left, men looking ahead
11. Various shots, sacks of improved seeds in warehouse
12. Med shot, Man carrying sack of seeds
13. SOUNDBITE (French) Maman Saleh, Agriculture Departement of Marriah:
“Each smallholder will receive 10 kilos of millet, 5 kilograms of chickpeas and 20 kilos of fertilizer. With that kind of support, the farmers will really have what they need to work their land.”
14. Wide shot, seed warehouse
15. Med shot, men handling sacks of seeds inside the seed warehouse
16. Close up, sack of seeds
17. Wide shot, “Food World Program” sign
18. Wide shot, unloading sacks of cereal from a truck
19. Med shot, ‘Tanzanian cereal bank’ sign
20. Med shot, women sifting seeds from sack
21. Wide shot, people standing by the entrance to the ‘Tanzanian cereal bank’
22. Med shot, cue of men outside the seed bank
23. Med shot, man handling inventory
24. Med shot, men carrying sacks of seeds
25. Various shots, women working in the field
26. SOUNDBITE (French) Mariam Issa, Beneficiary:
“The cash-for-work project came at just the right time. I was having difficulties getting enough food for my family. But now I can feed my children.”
27. Close up, man marking the land
28. Wide shot, women working the land
29. Tilt down from sign to men at entrance of seed warehouse
30. Med shot, men standing by sacks of grain
31. SOUNDBITE (French) Moussa Angou, Chief IARBIC project:
“The price is evaluated and the warehouse is locked with two keys. The key for the first padlock belongs to the farmers' association. The key to the second padlock is held by the credit bank. So neither of them can open the warehouse without the other, and that's what makes it work.”
32. Wide shot, men waking towards the seed warehouse
33. Close up, woman looking at inventory
34. Wide shot, man passing by with an Ox
35. Wide shot, man and cattle
36. Wide shot, women and children getting water
37. Med shot, woman carrying bucket of water
Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world; nearly two-thirds of the population lives on less than one dollar a day. Most families rely on subsistence farming and livestock breeding for their survival.
A landlocked country, Niger is prone to drought and desertification. Last year’s poor rains have left almost half the population at risk of hunger. More than 3 million people are in desperate need, and levels of child malnutrition are rising.
In response to the crisis, FAO has launched nine new projects worth 17.7 million dollars, which will benefit 2.8 million people. The projects are funded by the European Union, the UK’s DFID, Spain, Belgium and the United Nation’s Central Emergency Response Fund.
The immediate priority was the provision of fertilizer and quality seed, bought locally from farmers’ associations. This was distributed to 150,000 households in time for the main planting season.
FAO estimates that a 35-dollar kit of seed and fertilizer produces around 5 sacks of food. That’s enough to feed a family of seven for four months.
SOUNDBITE (French) Maman Saleh, Agriculture Department of Marriah:
“Each smallholder will receive 10 kilos of millet, five kilograms of chickpeas and twenty kilos of fertilizer. With that kind of support, the farmers will really have what they need to work their land.”
Under the EU food facility project, cooperative input shops will ensure that seeds, tools and fertilizer are made available locally, at a subsidized price, to fifty six thousand farmers.
And work is underway to strengthen the network of cereal banks. Twenty five were built by FAO with an initial cereal stock provided by the World Food Programme. Under this system, farmers can sell part of their produce at normal market prices to the cereal bank. This stock is then made available to farmers at an affordable price during the lean season.
In Niger, pasture land is scarce this year, with forage production about sixty two percent below requirements. So priority is given to the distribution of fourteen thousand tons of animal feed to two hundred and thirty thousand pastoralists.
And an FAO cash-for-work programme for vulnerable households is rehabilitating pasture land, and carrying out erosion control work. This will tackle the major problem of soil infertility while providing an immediate source of income for many in dire need.
SOUNDBITE (French) Mariam Issa, Beneficiary:
“The cash-for-work project came at just the right time. I was having difficulties getting enough food for my family. But now I can feed my children.”
And longer-term support for farmers is being provided by FAO and the European Union Food Facility programme. Part of the funding is being used to scale up an ingenious financing scheme called ‘warrantage’. This system, will enable 10,000 farmers to store their harvest as collateral to obtain credit from a bank.
SOUNDBITE (French) Moussa Angou, Chief IARBIC project:
“The price is evaluated and the warehouse is locked with two keys. The key for the first padlock belongs to the farmers' association. The key to the second padlock is held by the credit bank. So neither of them can open the warehouse without the other, and that's what makes it work.”
One hundred and fifty warehouses have been built or repaired under the EU food facility project in Niger. And farmers will use their credit to buy essential inputs for the next planting season. And hold on to their produce until the lean season when food stocks run low and prices climb.
By working with the government of Niger on strategies for poverty reduction and rural development, FAO – with the support of donors and partners – is providing a diversified response to the crisis.
But timely, long-term support is vital, if we are to build on our achievements, capitalize on our progress and avert another crisis situation in the future.
Download
There is no media available to download.
