Through a loan and grant, IFAD will support this project, which is part of the ongoing decentralization process launched by the Government of the Niger with the aim of reducing poverty by improving the access of all citizens to good local governance and services. The project will work to strengthen the ability of 56 rural communes, mainly in the Maradi region, to manage local affairs competently, particularly in relation to the planning, implementation and operation of investments that aim to improve households’ food security and living conditions.

The target group of IFAD-funded activities comprises poor rural people, including women and members of vulnerable groups whose development is blocked by weak governance and lack of access to basic services. The project will build up local capacities for action with a focus on participation and inclusion. To create an enabling environment for building the capacities of the communes, activities will strengthen decentralized public departments and producers’ organizations, and foster an enabling legal and institutional environment at the national level.

The project will encourage all target groups to participate actively in identifying, planning and making pro-poor investments in local social and economic infrastructure and food security financed by local investment funds. Communal development plans and annual investment plans will reflect priorities and proposal developed at village level. The project will not only further the decentralization process by intensifying support for capacity-building at the communal level but also by forging two-way linkages between communes and their constituencies and with public institutions that are involved in the decentralization process and delivery of essential services.

Source: IFAD