UK Aid Match Project Completion Report

To be completed by DFID: This Top Sheet captures the headlines on the project performance over the course of its lifetime.

Review Date:

Title:

Project Code: Start Date: End Date:

1. Summary of Project Performance

Year
Programme output
Score
Risk Rating

2. End of project Outcome score:

3. Financial Position

Project expenditure: Has an expenditure report for the entire lifetime of the project been received and checked? Y/N
(Attach this to the PCR).

Estimated match funding £

Final match funding £
Project Value
£

Project dates

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Extensions/ amendments

Log-frame revisions (dates and quest

numbers of revised logframe)

Total project spend

4. Summary of Communications Achievements

Appeal name
Appeal dates
Main communication partners
Number of donors to appeal
Number of Opportunities to view –
Appeal
Number of Opportunities to view –
Report back (date and comms
partner?)

i) Information from initial six month report:

ii) Information from first annual report and any subsequent reports:

5. Follow up actions required following closure

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To be completed by UK Aid Match partner:
This template is used for the final annual report of a project and covers progress made during the whole of the project life-time.

Please complete each section of the review template. Expand boxes as required.
Guiding notes are provided in red italics. Please delete guidance notes before submitting.

The Annual Review assesses and rates outputs using the following rating scale.

Description Scale
Outputs substantially exceeded expectation A++
Outputs moderately exceeded expectation A+
Outputs met expectation A
Outputs moderately did not meet expectation B
Outputs substantially did not meet expectation C

A: SUMMARY

Name of grant holder: Islamic Relief Niger Project title: Food Security and Livelihood Rehabilitation Project in Tillabery
Region (FSLR)
Project Value: PCR Review Date: Agreed submission date 2/09/2016

Project Value: 570,990 GBP (500,000 GBP DfiD and 70,990 GBP
IRUK)
Start Date: 1st April 2013 End Date: 30 June 2016

Summary of main lessons learnt during project

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Main lessons learnt

 The partnership with government district agencies greatly contributed to the sustainability of project activities. In fact, most of activities were
conducted in partnership with relevant government technical district agencies (livestock, agriculture, rural engineering, and environment).
That enable to better design activities and reach all the beneficiaries. In addition, a solid linkage between district technical bodies and
beneficiaries was created. Thus, even beyond the project life time beneficiaries will continue interacting with technical agencies because of
their continued presence on the field. Each community has the contact of all the extension services involved in the project.

 Through community meetings and monitoring sessions IRN has learned from beneficiaries that irrigated farming (garden activities) has the
highest likelihood to achieve food security and income that can lead to a better social wellbeing. As an evidence, where the gardens are
successful, neighbouring communities have been inspired to replicate the gardens using their own means, so IR Niger has learned that there
is a genuine appetite for these projects and potential to replicate them in other villages. However, there is a need to increase the size of
irrigated land per beneficiary.

 The community have preference for the local goats compared to the red goat despite their higher economical advantage. During the first
community mobilisation, the beneficiaries were willing to receive red goats, but after the delivery of the goats it has been found that they are
difficult to manage and prone to fighting. Also, beneficiairies prefer female goats only. Therefore, during the second distribution cycle, local
female goats were distributed and for those beneficiaries who requested and received red goats, they were trained to better manage them.

 In some of the villages, the irrigated agriculture land has been facing a lack of water from the existing deficient water points. Therefore, IR
Niger has learned that in future, it is important to install new water point dedicated to irrigation only in addition to the communities’ existing
water facilities. In the villages where the issues were observed the project dug additional shallow wells to solve the problem.

 At the beginning of the project, most of benefeciries were reluctant to consume goat’s milk. This was captured through field visit and
meetings with communities. An intense community mobilization on milk benefits and training on milk processing helped in positive behaviour
change toward the consumption of goat’s milk.

 Construction of artificial fish pond activities were very challenging and have negative impact on the environment due to the types of materials
required and high cost. The discussion with the environment enabled to overcome these challenges and find appropriate way of stocking fish
and managing it through natural pound.

The lessons learnt from the distribution of goat were incorporated not only in the DFID project but in the other project such as IR
Netherlands funded project (Resilience in Ouallam (RIO)) where 1000 local female goats were delivered to 500 women. Also, training on
goats milk processing were also conducted to increase awareness of its benefits.

Recommendations
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  Future projects should take into account the capacity building of district technical services agents. They sometimes lack training on new
extension practices to provide higher quality support to rural communities. In addition, they generally lack appropriate means of
transportation. For example in the districts where the DfiD project operated, out of 4 services involved in the project only one (environment
service) had a field car. The rest doesn’t have even motorcycle to operate properly and timely. The agents have to go about looking some
means of transportation to project sites whichis mostly the main cause of delay in implementation of some activities.

 For gardening activities, future projects should increase the size of land per beneficiary (i.e. at least 200 meter square per beneficiary) to
drive a higher income and food security impact. The anticipated challenge will be the availability of good community land or willingness of
individual farmers to provide their own land to the whole community.

B: PERFORMANCE AND CONCLUSIONS

B.1 Outcome statement:

Capacity of 994 HH (3282 men and 3,667 women) in 10 vulnerable villages in Tillabery strengthened to improve access to food and income.

B.2 Performance

Indicator Baseline Year 1 Year 2 End of project target End of project achievement (how much of year 3
milestone milestone (year 3 milestone) milestone was met?)
achievement achievement
%of 15% of people Not on track On track. 20% of people in the 50% of people in the project area have access to
households in the project project area have access more than three meals a day (estimates)
have access to area have to three meals a day
three meals a access to three
day meals a day
% of 79% of HHs in Not on track On track 28% of HHs live on more 30% of HH live with more than $1 a day (estimates)

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households the project than $1 a day
exceeding the area live on
income poverty less than $1 a
line of $1 per day
day
Households Household Gardening On track 286 HHs produce 704kg 105% of target is achieved: 300 HH trained in cereal
producing cereal part On track of cereal per year and production and more than 50% of population practice
cereal and production is Cereal 28% of population garden activities (women rarely practice gardening
practicing 640 kg/year prodiction not practising gardening activities before pfroject). The production per year
gardening and 17% of the on track (due activities was estimated at 750kg per year. That could be
activities population to drought) greater if drought was not frequent during the last
practice three years
gardening
Number of 1,500 ha of On track On track 47 ha of forest and land 100% of target is achieved : 47 ha of forest and land
acres of land forest and land restored restored
restored is degraded
and unusable

All the target for the outcome indicators were overachieved. The evaluation shows income diversification and improvement after the implementation
of the project in all beneficiairies communities. Male farmers were trained in best-fit agriculture practices to adapt their farming condition to the
climate change and poor soil quality. These technics had the potential to considerably improve the yields and improve food security. Whereas female
were engaged in dry season farming to fill the gap caused by rain fed agriculture deficit. Since the installation of gardens in the 10 villages it is
becames very rate to find a woman or a girl not practicing gardening activities. The 47 ha of land that was restored provided additional land to
farmers for millet and cowpea production. In addition, the construction of half-moons prevented the neighbouring farms from the occurrence of flood
and water erosion.
At the end of the project, beneficiaries no longer depend 100% on rain fed agriculture results. There were drought condition during the 3 years
of implementation of the project but no famine was declared within these 10 communities as was in the past.

C: DETAILED OUTPUT SCORING

C.1

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 Output statement Households supported with income generation initiatives
Output number 1 Output Score A++

Risk: Low Impact weighting (%): 25%

Output statement Farmers supported to improve agricultural and livestock production
Output number 2 Output Score A++

Risk: Low Impact weighting (%): 45%

Output statement Local CC adaptation strategies strengthened and women participate in natural resource management

Output number 3 Output Score A

Risk: Medium Impact weighting (%): 30%

C.2

Indicator Baseline Year 1 Year 2 milestone End of project target End of project achievement
milestone achievement
achievement
1.1 Number of Women do not On track (110 On track 200 women receive 210 women received microcredit in-kind
women receive have access to women receive (210 women microcredit in-kind grants grants
microcredit in-kind micro credit in the microcredit in- receive
grants project area kind grants) microcredit in-kind
grants)
1.2 Number of 256 women (9% Not on track Not on track (448 506 women trained to start 750 women trained to start IGAs
women trained to of all female (189 women women trained to IGA's
start IGAs beneficiaries) trained to start start IGA's)
trained to start IGA's)
IGA's
1.3 Number of 0 fish ponds Not on track Not on track Two fishponds managed and 2 natural ponds stocked with fish and
fishermen receive managed and stocked for 10 fishermen managed by 10 fishermen per pond (20
stocked fishponds stocked fishermen in total)

1.4 Number of No beneficiaries On track 1,060 beneficiaries (445 1060 participated to cash for work and
beneficiaries benefit from cash- women/615 men) partake in received income (537 women / 523 men)
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receiving cash for-work activities cfw activities
income as a result of
cash-for-work
activities

2.1 Number of 1,956 farmers On track On track 3,100 farmers (1,000 women 3,100 farmers (1000 women and 2,100
farmers receive (1,174 women, and 2,100 men) trained and men) trained and have access to
agricultural inputs and 782 men) trained have access to agricultural agricultural inputs (double counting was
trained in new and 4,050 inputs applied)
techniques farmers (2,390
women and 1,660
men) have
access to
agricultural inputs

2.2 Number of No community On track Not on track (9 10 new gardens established 10 gardens established and 1000 women
community gardens gardens gardens installed for 100 women trained in gardening (100 women in each
maintained by women out of 10) garden)

2.3 Number of goats 0 goats present in Not on track On track 400 goats distributed to 200 425 goats distributed to 210 women and
introduced to the the community women and 18,000 goats 18405 small ruminants provided with
community and provided with treatment treatment
receive care
3.1 Number of No local initiative Not on track Not on track 360 women and 40 men 500 female and 208 male beneficiaries
adaptation strategies to manage local Implement community DRR identified and committees set up in each
adopted and women resources plans village
involved in the
management of
natural resources
3.2 Number of No locally On track On track 47 ha of forest rehabilitated 47 ha of forest rehabilitated with
hectares of forest implemented with plantation of 5,175 agro plantation of 7,206 agro forestry plants
areas rehabilitated strategy for forestry plants (Acacia (Acacia Senegal) and 2,000 jujube fruit
unused land and Senegal) trees (Sisyphus Mauritania)
degraded forest
recovery

C.3 Comments on progress towards output targets

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Indicator 1.1
The in-kind grant was designed to provide 400 goats to 200 women. Thus, FSLR project in Tillaberi region reached 210 women in two rounds of
distribution by December 2015. During the 1 st distribution 110 women were reached. In fact the overachievement was made possible through
negotiations with local stakeholders and IR Niger to acquire more goats for 10 additional women. During the 2nd distribution 100 women received by
the FSLR project following 2 lessons learned from the 1st distribution:

 Beneficiaries have particular preference for local goat’s because they are larger than red goats despite the scientific evidences of
advantages of red goats over local goats in term of leather quality, number of births per year and milk productivity,
 There are enough male goat in the intervention area so that only female goats are needed by women for reproduction instead of male and
female together.

The 210 women were reached by the in-kind grant under the condition of sharing offspring’s to their peers. In fact, in each of the 10 villages 2 lists
of beneficiaries were elaborated. Through community mobilization activities each direct beneficiary was linked to a secondary beneficiary to benefit
from 2 offspring when they reach a certain age. These women are organized in groups so that the monitoring of the goats and offspring’s sharing
was managed at beneficiaries level.

That arrangement ensured pursuing of the goat’s offspring sharing beyond the project lifetime given the fact about 15% of goats produced kids by
March 2016. However, about 5% of women have already shared 1 to 2 offspring’s (2 in Deytagui, 3 in Boukou Beri, 2 in Loga, 2 in Goutoumbou
Goroutché, and 1 in Kanda).

The indicator was met at 105%.

Indicator 1.2
The FSLR in Tillaberi Region conducted capacity building activities to promote income generating activities controlled by women. Overall the 750
women were trained to start income generating activities. Three set of capacity buildings activities were conducted by the project to meet that
indicator.

The 1st training was conducted on trees and seedling nurseries production where 266 women were involved. That activity enabled women to
improve their knowledge in term of nurseries keeping. As a result they produced Acacia trees and Moringa that planted in and around the gardens.
These trees provided shelter for garden activities against the harsh winds in December when garden activities are intense. The planted trees
increased the productivity of vegetable crops by reducing the damage to crops by wind erosion. Women produced and sold vegetable crops
nurseries to earn income. Following the training, the women were able to produce trees from their planting activities and sell them in the market,
creating an income generating activity. That activity is well aligned with the Nigerien’s government’s ‘3N’ strategy (Nigeriens Nourishing Nigeriens)
that promoted nurseries keeping.

The 2nd capacity building activity was conducted around goat’s milk promotion for women. Thus, 299 women were trained in milk processing (in

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dried cheese and yoghurt) and intensive animal rearing including small ruminants fattening. That activity focused on direct beneficiaries of goats of
the FSLR project. These training were conducted under close partnership between IR Niger and the livestock agencies of Ouallam and Filingue.
The training was mainly conducted around milk processing in local cheese (fresh milk of goat and cow) and yogurt (with fresh milk of goats and
cow, and powder milk). That activity enabled women to add value to the distributed animals. Trained women undertook the transformation of the
surplus of milk to produce dried cheese that can be used during the low milk production period. Most of communities was reluctant to consume
goat’s milk at the beginning of the project. They were pointing out the fact that goat’s milk provokes dermatosis. The intensive community
mobilization sessions carried on to create awareness on the importance of goat’s milk consumption for human being and especially children was
successful. That was coupled with comprehensive training of women on milk processing in cheese and yoghurt. That yielded a growing
consumption of goat’s milk in the intervention area. These intensive training and sensitisation of women on the importance of goat’s milk have
driven some changes in villages where beneficiaries did not consume goat’s milk for cultural reason. In fact, most of women having goats with
offspring claim that they now consume goat’s milk after being trained in milk processing. The small quantity of milk produced per goat became the
major constraints to goat milk availability and consumption. But there are still women not consuming goat’s milk because the goat’s milk is still low
at beneficiary’s household level. In other words goat’s milk consumption is now more limited by the availability than cultural dimension. In fact,
beneficiaries that observed births of goats pointed out the low quantity of milk production due to lack of enough fodder to feed them. The lack of
enough fodder to feed the animals in the intervention area was related to the recurrent drought faced by the region of Tillaberi during the three
years of the project. Even the offspring hardly got milk from the mother goat. Women perceived the human consumption to reduce the availability of
milk for the offspring and will have negative effect on its growth.

The 3rd income generating activities capacity building was done around gardening production’ valorisation. In fact, the FSLR project conducted
vegetable crops processing and conservation training in partnership with agriculture district services of Ouallam and Filingué. A number of 185
women was trained in vegetable crops processing. These women were encouraged to provide feedback to the rest of women garden beneficiaries
through farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing. That was effective and women gained the capacity to reduce post-harvest wastes and losses. Women
reaped the benefit of the training by appling the knowledge they gain from the training. The women were not aware of the adaptability to processing
and conservation ofcrops such as aubergine, potatoes, onion, melon and water melon. Women claimed that they can now extend the gardening
product business for more months than usual. They were able to reduce sell-out to brokers and losses by drying vegetable crops production surplus
to improve their food security by using them as complement to rain fed production.

The indicator was met at 148%.

Indicator 1.3
The district environment services (DDE) is the government representative in charge of natural resources management including fish farming in
Niger. To execute the fish farming activities in two communities IR Niger conducted a feasibility study in partnership with the DDE of Ouallam. The
results of the study suggested that digging of an artificial pond was not appropriate for three reasons:

 Given the nature of the soil (with a tiny portion of clay) making it permeable to water, the digging of a pond is not appropriate as desilting the
ponds would have a negative impact on the environment,
 The two places identified for the installation of artificial ponds regularly face floods making the construction of artificial ponds close to natural
ponds not advisable,
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  The artificial ponds harm the environment and need regular maintenances as opposed to natural ponds which meet environment policies
and are less costly.

Basically the study concluded that the artificial ponds was not sustainable. In addition to the technical recommendations made by the DDE, the cost
estimation was high for the construction of the artificial ponds. Therefore the DDE recommended to use the available two natural ponds for fish
farming to reduce costs. The decision was to select natural ponds for the activity. Two natural ponds with the potential for fish farming was
identified. Two committees was established to ensure that the natural ponds are not overexploited and to manage the fish farming activity under the
guidance of communal environment services. Based on the advice of DDE and local experienced fishermen 4 species of fish was selected for the
activity. These species were appreciated by the local communities as there were few of them in the ponds. The selected types of fish are: i)
Oreochromis nilotocus (3,000), ii) Clarias gariepinus (600); iii) Lates niloticus (200) ; iv) Bagrus bayad (200).

The Oreochromis nilotocus and Clarias gariepinus have a short multiplication cycle. In addition, each female was able to produce up to 300 to 600
eggs that enabled the population to grow rapidly. The Lates niloticus and Bagrus bayad are the most appreciated on the market. They will also
ensure the natural regulation of the population of the Oreochromis nilotocus and Clarias gariepinus by consuming them and growing rapidly. The
fish farming preparation was completed in December 2015 with the installation of protection nets and release of 4 species of fish in 2 selected
natural ponds. Participatory approach was used to set up non fishing period for about six months. During that period no one was permitted to fish on
the 2 natural ponds to enable most of the fish gaining enough weight. So the 2 ponds was not exploited during 6 months (December 2015 to May
2016) of fish breeding period. Each pond is managed by a committee made of the 10 trained and equipped fishermen to promote sustainability,
prohibiting fishing during the breeding period to ensure the stocks were replenishing. From March to June 2016 two monitoring fishing were
conducted to check the progress of the fish farming. It was in early June that the fish reached an acceptable weight. Therefore, fishermen were
allowed to start fishing and selling fish in early June under close supervision of the environment services to ensure that overfishing did not occur. To
avoid encouraging overfishing on the natural ponds the FSLR project in partnership with DDE conducted sensitization around the natural resource
management and the necessity of having a reduced number of fishermen per ponds. Thus the fishermen were encouraged to sell fish to beneficiary
community as a priority. As a result the fishermen sold the equivalent of 1 kg of fish around £0.5 in the village whereas they sell same quantity at £2
out of the village. During the period of fishing (i.e. early June 2016) each fisherman was able to get more than 5kg of fish per day. That has greatly
improved the income of fishermen and the access to good source of protein in the two beneficiary villages. It has also been noticed that fish
became abundant even in the neighbouring villages that are sharing the natural ponds and enable to reach more vulnerable communities.

The indicator was met at 200%.

Indicator 1.4
The cash for work (CFW) activities were conducted to rehabilitate degraded land, plant trees and earn income. The CFW was done through the
digging of half-moons to be planted with trees. The CFW activities were attended by 1060 persons (537 women and 523 men) living in the 10
beneficiary’s villages of the project. In each village workers were divided in 2 groups. The 1 st group was made of 100 workers per village. These

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workers received diggers and shovel for the purpose of land rehabilitation. The 2 nd group was composed of CFW management committee that was
in charge of field administration including organizing workers, checking tools, handling daily attendance documents, and also drawing half-moons
on the degradated land. Each worker earned a daily wage of XOF1, 300 (£1.72) which made a total of XOF6, 500 (£8.58) in 5 working days.
Women were more targeted by the CFW activities due to the flexibility of the activity that does not exceed four hours’ work per day. Additionally,
households share their labour between farm activities and land CFW. Beneficiaries used the income to purchase food for their household
consumption. Very few of beneficiaries used the money to improve their assets endowment though. CFW activities had short-term effect on food
security by providing direct income that enabled the access to food.

The indicator was met at 100%.

Indicator 2.1
FSLR project provided support to farmers living in 10 villages of Tillaberi region. That support consisted of training on best agriculture practices,
distribution of inputs (fertilizer, pesticides, credit, and certified seeds of early maturing varieties), and farming tools (plough, donkeys, pest control
equipment, and warehouse).

The project delivered early maturing seeds (75-90 days) of rainy season crops (pearl millet and cowpea). The pearl millet variety was the HKP that
was developed by the Niger National Research institute (INRAN). For cowpea the varieties of TN78 (in 2014) and IT90 (in 2015) was distributed. In
each of the 10 villages 100 household heads (men) received twice (2014 and 2015) seeds of pearl millet (5kg), cowpea (3kg). Farmers received
each one 6kg of NPK 15-15-15 and Urea 46% chemical fertilizer. Farmers were trained on how to use improved inputs. The fertilizer micro-dose
(localized application of small quantity of fertilizer) was showed to beneficiaries. Most of the 10 communities faced bad rain fall seasons during the
three years of the project implementation. That had weaken the potential impact of the fertilizer and improved early maturing seeds delivered to
beneficiaries. Even in that context of 3 consecutives bad rain-fall seasons the 10 communities were able to maintain enough quantity of improved
varieties seeds of cowpea and pearl millet.

In each of the 10 intervention villages 30 household heads (300 in total) specific intensive trained in best agriculture practices. That training focused
on creating awareness on climate change and the necessity to adopt new cropping systems and technologies that are adapted. A number of 50
farmers were trained on how to use traction equipment (plough and donkey) to reduce weed control drudgery and enable farmers gaining more time
to undertake other activities or exploit more lands. In each village one traction kit management committee was set up. The main duty of the
committee was to ensure the properly use of the equipment delivered. That committee was made of 5 farmers per village participating in seed
production. These farmers were responsible of the use of the kit and its maintenance when needed. Basically the kit served for demonstration and
the major outcome related to that activity was the exposure of farmers to improved farming tools compare to the hand tools they were using for
many centuries.

Another constrain faced by farmer both during dry or rainy season is when the crops affected by insects or diseases. To build the capacity of
farmers on how to handle these constraints, 50 farmers were trained in pest control on chemical pesticides use and fabrication of alternative
pesticides using natural products. Each one received basic equipment including sprayer, treatment cloths (combination, googles, boots, etc.), set of
local materials (tobacco, hot peper, parafine, etc.) needed to prepare alternative pesticides to start treating communities crops.

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Overall, the agriculture input (seeds, pesticides, and fertilizers) distribution and capacity buildings were done to improve the rain fed crops
productivity. FSLR project initiated a better access to output market through innovative institutional system known as warrantage. The warrantage
system was introduced in Niger since 1999 by the FAO and the GTZ in response to small scale farmer’s inability to access credit.

Thus, warrantage system was developed to enable small scaled farmers without savings to access to credit market and undertake income
generating activities for a period of 6 month. In fact, given the high poverty rate prevailing in rural areas of Niger, farmers did not have guarantee
needed by formal banks to get loan. The innovative system of warrantage was composed of farmer’s groups, warehouse, management committee,
and micro-finance institutions (micro-credit service or farmer’ federation). Furthermore, farmers had to create community based organisation (CBO)
that will use their production surplus as collateral and get loan from a funding organisation (IMF, NGO, project, or farmer’s federation).

The warrantage community committees members conduct community mobilization on the role of the system and its potential benefits. Later on each
farmer’s group, this committee collect agriculture products from individual members (from any farmers having surplus) to constitute a stock that is
stored in the community warehouse. Each individual farmer marked his products so that poor quality owners will be easily identified and rejected.
Crops such as millet, sorghum, and groundnut that are not quickly perishable are the most accepted products in warrantage. More recently due to
the availability of adapted storage technics of cowpea (i.e. hermetic bags known as PICS) cowpea was introduced in warrantage. After the product
are stored any organization having funds (IMF, Project, NGO, or Farmer’ federation) will be connected to the farmer group. The warehouse is
closed with two keys after the checking of quantity and quality of stored products. Ideally the CBO keeps one key and the loan provider keeps the
second key so that no one can open the warehouse alone. But in Niger given the trust observed by experience the 2 keys are usually kept by a
warrantage management committee set up by communities. The management committee monitor and check the quality and quantity of the stored
products frequently to ensure the product are not being damaged during storage.

The loan provider will allocate a credit from 70 to 80% of the value of the stock constituted by the CBO using market price at the period of the
transaction. An average monthly interest rate ranging from 1.5 to 2.5% is applied on the credit and the average loan duration is set at 6 to 7 months.
With the credit farmers are sensitized to undertake income generating activities. At the end of the credit period (6-7 months) the farmer group is in
charge of the collecting the amount of loan from its members and allow them to take back their marked products when the market prices are higher
than at the beginning of the warrantage. They have the choice to consume, sell, or use as seeds their products. For farmers not being able to
refund the loan their product will be sold by the group and the profit will be given back to them.

The FSLR project adopted the same approach with some adaptation imposed by the context of intervention. The construction of warrantage
warehouses was done in the 10 villages. In each village a management committee made of 4 persons was trained in warrantage and community
mobilization were conducted. The FSLR project played the role of the IMF and provided loan without interest rate to farmers group. That provided
capital to the beneficiaries enabling them to start and pursue the activity even beyond the project’s life time.

The three years of implementation of the project were characterized by bad season therefore farmers focused on keeping the seeds they received
from the project in warrantage. And the fund contracted were mainly used to fulfil household food gap rather than income generating activities. The
innovation was around the mode of payment that was done using in-kind approach given the lack of liquidity with farmers. In fact instead of
refunding cash, farmers preferred in most of villages to refund the credit using the harvested products. For example a farmer that has placed in

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warrantage 1 bag of 100 kg of millet will contract about £23 (70% of the value) to meet his basic needs. In addition, at the beginning of the rainy
season he will take back his stored bag and use it as seed instead of purchasing seeds of lower quality in local markets.

At the harvest, he will bring back a newly produced bag as payment of the credit. The cumulative bags became the property of the community and
managed by the committee under the surveillance of the project and the local authorities. These products are then sold to any farmer who is
interested and the funds served to finance the following year’s warrantage. In seven villages (Goutoumbou Gorouthché, Goutoumbou Kalley,
Boukou Beri, Deytagui, Koura, Loga, and Bardouga) the warrantage was able to store in total form 19.35tons in 2014 to 27.35tons in 2015 (a total
of 46,7tons). That was done by 181 farmers (282 if double counted 143 in 2014 and 139 in 2015) participating to the FSLR project’ warrantage.
More than 80% was kept as seed and was enough to sow 3736 ha (estimated using rate of seeds 10kg/ha). That had significantly secure seeds for
the 7 participant villages. The 20% of the stocks was devoted to household consumption and sales at better markets conditions. The villages not
participating to warrantage were seriously affected by rain shortage. Indeed Fanakakoira, Kanda, and Diguinassa were not motivated to participate
to the warrantage given the magnitude of cereal deficit they experienced.

The indicator was met at 100%.

Indicator 2.2
The irrigated farming reached 1000 women from 10 different villages. These women attended field training conducted by the project staff through
the ‘learning-by-doing process’ whereby they engaged in practical and hands-on training sessions in irrigated farming techniques. The immediate
impact was the change in techniques of vegetable crops production by the women. Women that used to produce vegetables on disorganised small
plots were able to acquire knowledge on how to conduct nurseries at a community level and how to transplant them in a better manner resulting in
improved products. Furthermore, the FSLR project trained women in vegetable seeds production to sustain the market garden activities.

In each community 30 women were trained in lettuce, tomato, potato, and onion and Moringa seed production (300 women in total). Women were
also trained on how to identify seeds of good quality on market and where to get them. They were also sensitized on the need of using appropriate
material for seed preservation. In fact, it was noticed that the germination power reduces when seeds are stored in plastic for more than 2 months.

Women (300 women) were trained on compost production to mitigate soil poverty that is limiting the productivity with affordable source of organic
matter. Compost is more affordable that chemical fertilizer. Each community conducted 2 demonstrations sites of compost production using animal
dungs, hay, and dried leaves of trees during a period of 3 months. The demonstration were visited by about 1000 women (all of gardening
beneficiairies). At the end of the compost production each of the 10 sites produced 1.5 tonnes (15tons in total) that was shared among the 1000
beneficiaries. Women had observed a yield gain for vegetable crops resulting from the application of the compost. The vegetable crops producers’
knowledge and skills in term of soil quality management have been improved. Women took the commitment to start the compost production for the
coming season to sustain the soil quality.

The indicator was met at 100%.

Indicator 2.3

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 FSLR project in Tillaberi region distributed in total 425 goats to 210 women by December in 2015. These goats were distributed in two different
phases. During the 1st distribution 5 villages were served and each one got 45 (22 males and 23 females) of red goats race. The 2 nd distribution of
200 local demale goats to 5 remaining villages was done based on 2 lessons learned from the previous distribution :
 Beneficiaries have particular preference for local goat’s because they are larger than red goats despite the scientific evidences of
advantages of red goats over local goats in term of leather quality, number of births per year and milk productivity,
 There are enough male goat in the intervention area so that only female goats are needed by women for reproduction instead of male and
female together.

As a result of the in-kind grant beneficiary women noticed the increase of their herd size. In fact, most of women that received goats from the FSLR
project did own animals before the project. In rural areas of Niger small ruminants represent the wealth and saving of owners. In addition, ownership
of animal has the power to improve the social status of beneficiaries especially for women. Most of women without livestock who received two
goats each have shown strong commitment to sustain them since they have noticed changes in their social status.

After the delivery of 425 goats by the project, an agreement was signed with the livestock service to train 225 women (210 of whom were
beneficiaries of goats) on how to keep them, how to process the milk and how to vaccinate all of the distributed goats. A visit from the animal health
care was conducted by the livestock service in agreement with the project to vaccinate 450 goats (425 of those delivered by the project) in the 10
targeted villages. The immediate result of the treatment of these goats was the improvement in their health so that they could reproduce quickly.

In Niger the government policy around animal health is to encourage the establishment of private actors. Therefore the project has conducted
meetings with 10 beneficiary communities to identify and train two proximity para veterinaries per village. In total, the project trained and equipped
20 para veterinaries. The training was conducted by the livestock service of Ouallam; the para veterinaries were trained on how to provide first aid
care to animals at their village level. The training provided basic knowledge on animal healing and the management of small business, and an
agreement was signed with the livestock service to monitor the para veterinaries closely for three months (May, June and July 2015) after the
training. The para veterinaries were linked to the governmental livestock agency for support after training. The principal role of the para veterinaries
is to provide first aid care to the animals in their villages. They also make a huge contribution in the early warning systems around animal health and
food security in their villages as the government livestock services rely on the para veterinaries’ information on diseases around livestock rearing. In
fact, the government livestock agency has limited means to provide care and information in every single village in an efficient manner, meaning the
para veterinaries living within the communities have the potential to greatly improve the access to first aid care for animals.

The project has acquired basic equipment and medicines to make the para veterinaries operational, these include; storage bags, set of medicines,
deworming drugs1, and antibiotics2. The toolkits have been proposed by the livestock service according to their knowledge of frequents animal
issues that para veterinaries are given permission to tackle by the government of Niger. This has enabled trainees to start businesses in the animal
health sector and earn additional income. The project has encouraged the trained para veterinaries to publicise information by installing some
visibility tools around their houses to advertise their training and skills.
1
Including: Alben 2500mg (20boli) and Alben 300mg (25boli), Véto anti diar (sachet), vitamins such as Képrocéryl (sachet), VPV boite 50 for birds, Sorbilax ou Omipural
(100ml)
2
Including: Pomade Tetracycline 1%, Pomade Tetracycline 3%, Bleu de Methylene (1/4 L), Alcool 95° (100ml), Cotton hydrophile (50g)

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As the para veterinaries do not have the mandate for animal vaccinations, an agreement will be signed with the livestock service to vaccinate the
remaining 18000 goats in the 10 beneficiary and surrounding villages. At the end of the campaign about 18405 animals were vaccinated.

The activity was achieved at 106% (for goat distribution).

The activity was achieved at 102% (for vaccination of animals).

Indicator 3.1

To mainstream environment sustainable protection 300 beneficiaries (266 women and 34 men) were involved in training on forest trees and
seedling nurseries production. In fact, the management of tree nurseries enabled farmers to produce plants and use on their community land, farms
and in their houses to protect their environment and prevent disaster. It is a well-known policy in Niger that planting trees is a way to protect against
the risks of the environment. In addition, trainings on natural resources planning and management (NRM) reaching 500 women (200 in 2015 and
different women 300 in 2016) were conducted to mainstream the prevention of trees and lands destruction by human activities. Moreover, the
project provided a sensitization campaign on the role of women in community development and natural resources management. All the 266 women
participating to nuresies activities attended the training on NRM.

During the sensitization campaign all community members regardless of their gender were invited to participate. Based on the training and
sensitisation on the importance of natural resources management provided by the project and the DDE, there has been an increase in awareness
on the preservation of natural resources – particularly trees and we are confident these trees will be preserved and well managed. In Ouallam
women are in charge of the collection of wood for household consumption which has a negative impact on the environment as they are not aware of
the adapted manner to collect wood without destroying the trees. This highlights the importance of the training for women with the DDE educating
them on how to apply improved wood collection methods without harming the trees.

Based on these two environment advocacy and awareness activities the project assumes that the knowledge gap in terms of natural resource
management has been reduced between men and women. In the past, generally training and awareness activities have tended to focus on men
since they are considered the main decision makers instead of including women. However, through this DFID funded project women were
prioritised with the training and sensitization campaign to raise awareness on the preservation of the environment. Women were trained in the
confection of improved stove that enabled them to same wood leading to decrease of the pressure on trees.

Feedback from field monitoring shows the progress on the adoption of the natural resources management techniques demonstrated by the FSLR
project. In fact the half-moon rate being adopted in farmers field to produce millet. Also the use of improved stove for cooking has increased in the
intervention area and is reducing the pressure on trees. By visiting farmers’ fields around villages it can be noticed that many young trees are in
place. Before the project farmers used to cut and burn young trees at the beginning and the end of any rainy season. That change was related to
training on improved wood collection.

In each village 10 farmers are organized in group to produce certified seeds for selling, they are known as seed producers. These 100 seed

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producers (90 men and 10 women) received one to two bags per village of basic seeds of cowpea to produce certified seeds in groups. Despite the
recurrent drought registered in Niger since 2013, the seed production activities continues at group level but the production did not provide a
marketable surplus. That was due to small area devoted to the activity.

The project continued with DRR and CCA mainstreaming in the community. FSLR project conducted community mobilization around the
preservation of the environment and use of adapted strategies to climate change. Also, capacity building activities of the committees was held to
cover all the aspects of DRR and CCA including. A dedicated DDR committee was trained in each of the 10 villages. That committee was made of
10 persons (8 men and 2 women) per village. In total 100 persons were trained. The committee was composed by individuals that attended several
training. The committee was made of:
 2 seeds producers,
 2 para veterinaries,
 2 pest controllers,
 2 forest and vegetable crops nurseries keeps,
 2 local authorities or communities leaders (head of village, head of quarter, Imam, president of group, etc.).

Given the fact that all the intervention area is covered by communal early warning system (EWS) existing before the project, the FSRL project avoid
duplication. Thus, the village level committees were trained on the basics of monitoring vulnerability. The objective was to create awareness around
the EWS and provide support to it in case. Thus no DRR plan was elaborated at village level since the commune has already an ongoing plan.

Thus by excluding double counting 500 women and 208 men participated to community strategy implementation to reduce disaster risk.

The indicator was met at 152%.

Indicator 3.2
Land rehabilitation of about 47 ha activities was started in the district of Ouallam in 2014 and finalized in the district of Filingué in 2015. The
plantation of trees was done on 22 hectares in total (10 ha in 2014 and 12 ha in 2015). The land restoration was done through the digging of half-
moons where the trees were planted. In each hectare, 313 half-moons were dug. In the district of Ouallam about 10 ha was planted with 3,450 of
acacia Senegal and in Filingué 12ha with 3,756 half-moons was planted with trees. That made a total of 7206 trees planted.

To ensure the sustainability of this achievement, in each community one volunteer guardian has been identified during community mobilization
sessions with the participation of the project staff to protect the trees from animals and children. The guardian was also selected based on their
commitment to monitor the rehabilitated land twice daily (morning and afternoon outings) until the newly planted trees have grown. The trees are
still small and not visible during the dry season without their leaves to adapt to the climate condition. As soon as the rainy season progress the
leaves start to grow.

However, due to the livestock keeping system in the intervention area most of trees were damaged by animals especially goats. In fact herders are
culturally used to free their animal so that they can feed themselves without any cost.

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 The main lesson learned from the forest trees plantation on community land was the importance of providing incentive to beneficiaries for the
watching sites rather than rely on the community ability to watch trees for their own benefits. Other part it would be more effective to provide
sensitize community members individually to plant trees on their own farms so that the watching will not be a constraint. Based on that lesson the
FSLR project continues with the sensitization of communities on the importance of planting trees and the role of half-moon in the environment
preservation. The project distributed to 2,000 individuals across the 10 villages communities Sisyphus Mauritania trees that were planted in houses
to meet two objectives : planting trees and providing fruits for consumption or selling.

The indicator was met 100% (for land restoration).

The indicator was met 178% (for trees plantation).

C.4 Describe how have you addressed feedback from DFID on this output following your last report or 6 monthly review meeting?

N/A

Add boxes C. 1 – C. 4 for each output in your logframe as required.

D: VALUE FOR MONEY

D.1 Economy: What has been done over the lifetime of the project to drive down costs of project inputs while maintaining the required
standards of quality?

Initially, the project had budgeted for consultants to carry out the community agriculture training. However, as one of the Programmes team was a
skilled agriculture technician, the staff member was able to carry out the training and therefore save some of the budget initially allocated for a

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consultant. Furthermore, instead of hiring private consultants the project relies on partnership with local government technical district services. That
had significantly reduced the cost of implementation. In fact for technical services only per-diem and fuel are taken in charge. For example the daily
rate given to government agencies was £26 for training and £13 for monitoring activities whereas the average rate request by consultants was during
the same period around £66. The difference in term of quality is not certain given the fact that private consultant have the same level of education
as government agents.

When constructing the warrantage warehouses, local building materials were used rather than cement, which cost considerably less as well as being
more context-appropriate. That enabled to secure quite enough funds for 2 years warrantage activities. Also, IR Niger was able to make a negotiate
with the vendors supplying the goats for women, and therefore procured 425 instead of 400 for the same price.

The total fund of the project was used to complete all the planned activities by march 2016. That was done by making over achievement for most of
the activities.

D.2 Efficiency: How have you ensured that resources (inputs) have been used efficiently over the lifetime of the project to maximise the results
achieved?

When procuring either items or services (e.g. goats, contractors to build the irrigation facilities, garden fences etc ..), IR Niger put out a tender and
reviewed the bids received, enabling the contractor with the best cost-quality ratio to be selected. Cost comparisons were made to verify that IR
Niger was indeed receiving value for money. In fact, IRN procurement procedures were strictly followed to ensure at least 3 vendors are consulted
for competition and the best offer in terms of ration of price - quality is selected for final negotiation.

With regards to agreements with district technical services the budget are developed and validated by the project team and IRN management prior to
discussion with relevant agencies. The capacity building activities were done by signing agreement with district technical service instead of private
consultant that will cost more than double for the same level of service quality.

D.3 Are there multiplier effects from this project?

In some of the villages, neighbouring communities were inspired by the successful irrigated agriculture and began using their own resources to set
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up similar gardens. That was observed mainly in the secluded part of the project intervention area where farmers are not benefiting any support from
from other development agencies.

Water mobilization is costly at individual farmer level. That is now the one of the main limiting factors to the generalized adoption of gardening during
dry season despite the wide awareness created by the project on the potential of irrigated farming to mitigated food insecurity and poverty issues. In
addition the replication of gardening activities becomes more apparent but poor farmers are not able to protect their crops with metallic fences given
its cost. As consequence they usually use branches of trees that cannot resist from animals such as goats and fowl and needed to replaced every
year. Therefore, when IR Niger carries out similar projects in future, the project design will include establishing a sustainable and plentiful water
source so that a bigger area could be irrigated.

Having seen the success of the project, another Islamic Relief family member (IR Netherlands) funded a similar project that delivered 1000 goats and
rehabilitate around 156 ha of arid land in one commune.

E. SUSTAINABILITY

E.1 What have you done during the project to ensure that positive changes to peoples’ lives achieved through the project will be sustained
when the project ends?
The major mechanism used by the project to ensure sustainability was the set up and training of management committee. In most cases the project
initiated institutional arrangement to enable the activity to be sustained at community level. That had empowered the communities and made them
take ownership of their livelihood protection. As an example the seed production was carried out by a group that has been trained and supported for
3 years. By the end of the project they were able to carry on the business on their own. Another example, is about fish farming where a committee of
20 fishermen was set up to take charge of the natural ponds so that they can avoid the overfishing.. They were trained in fish stock management.
They were also linked to the local environment service to seek for further support if needed. Also,the project organized experience exchange visits
between two different district inhabitants to enable each of them being exposed to different culture of project activities participation. That will enable
beneficiaries to be more confident and sustain the project achievements.

FSLR project focused on community capacity building on the major livelihood of targeted villages. In fact 100% beneficiary’s practices rain fed
agriculture prior to the project. During project life, farmers had ben trained on basic agriculture best practices adapted to climate change. All
communities lacked some strategies for crops failure risk reduction due to drought. The FSLR initiated warrantage to help them store their seeds
instead of selling them at low price or consuming them. That led to awareness and incentive on the importance of saving at least of early maturing
seeds for next season. The know-how learnt by farmers through training, would ensure the sustainability.

The project has created job for women during the dry season in villages by deepening the culture of producing and processing vegetable crops under

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irrigation. That cultural change will remain for many generations as stated by beneficiaries. The long-term success of the project depends primarily
on the capacity-building and awareness of the beneficiaries, to ensure that they continue to commit time and resources to the gardening, new IGAs,
DRR plans etc. Therefore, the project made strong emphasis on training and working with community groups to sustain the achievements.

The project relied on building partnership with technical services to ensure sustainability. In fact, in each of the major livelihood sector the relevant
government service was involved. That enabled communities to be linked to technical services such as animal health, agriculture, environment, and
rural engineering. The communities are aware of the advice and further guidance they can get from government servicesafter the completion of the
project. Thus for any issue that can’t be handled by communities they are now able to easily access the appropriate technical services.

E.2 If the project is introducing new or improved services that need to continue after the project ends, what have you done during the project
to ensure the sustainability of the service?

The warrantage system was facilitated by IR Niger, who provided loan to beneficiaries based on their stored crops. FSLR project trained a committee
of 4 persons (selected by the entire village) in each village to manage the warrantage system to ensure that they continue to run beyond the project’
life time.

The project trained and equipped 2 persons per village in animal care provision. To ensure sustainability the para veterinaries were trained on the
necessary skills but also in how to manage a para veterinaries business. Therefore, there was a clear monetary incentive to ensure the sustainability.
That is the same case for pest controllers trained that received official professional ID card from the national crop protection service. Thus they are
registered by the government pest control agency and will be involved in any local pest management campaign organized by the government or
other humanitarian agencies.

With the purchasing of a donkey plough for the community, they will not face the burden of purchasing fuel for a tractor, but will benefit from a quick
and efficient means of carrying out tillage and weeding of their crops that is less labour intensive than their current manual methods. That has also
introduced awareness on the use of donkey in agriculture practices in all of 10 villages.

E.3 (If not covered by questions E1 and E2 above): What are the on-going needs of the target communities relevant to the project intervention,
and how will these is met?

Not applicable.

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 F. EQUITY (GENDER & DIVERSITY)

F.1 How has marginalised groups benefitted from your project (e.g. landless, disabled, elderly)?

At the start of the project, all community members in the target villages were informed about the activities and who would qualify to benefit from
them. The beneficiaries were selected through a participatory process, with community members themselves identifying those whom they knew to be
most marginalised or vulnerable using local criteria of vulnerability and marginalisation.

For example, the criteria for selection to receive a goat as in-kind credit included: being a female head of a household with one or more orphan
children; being from a household affected by a natural disaster; being disabled or elderly.

Most of activities of the project were based on massive inclusion. In fact, the activities are developed so that almost every household benefited from
one activity of the project.

Further, all the beneficiaries of the irrigated gardening activities are landless, due to local cultural restrictions on female land ownership. This activity
gives them access to and control over land in a way that was previously not possible.

Finally, the cultural solidarity prevailing in rural areas of Niger makes it very easy to reach directly or indirectly the most vulnerable people. That was
noticed for most of items distributed to a well-defined number of beneficiaries but farmers shared with their neighbours or relatives who are not on
the list. We notice that in most of gardens 100 women were officially registered but looking at the size of land each woman is working on we realized
that more than 100 women are being working in the gardens.

F.2 How have women and girls benefitted?

IR Niger has worked closely with women community-based organisations throughout this project to ensure that women are targeted for
empowerment. For example, the gardens set up in the villages are run entirely by women; it is women who have been trained in the relevant
techniques and management. In addition, women have received micro-credit and been trained in IGAs to ensure that they are economically
empowered and can more easily meet both their own needs and those of their families. They also made up more than 50% of the beneficiaries of
cash-for-work during the land restoration component, digging the half-moons.

The training and awareness sessions regarding natural resource management highlighted specifically the key role women in community

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development, and raised their standing and value within the villages and to lessen the cultural barriers to their participation.

Finally, IR’s theory of change holds that by empowering a generation of mothers and demonstrating the benefits of female participation to the
community, local norms can be changed such that future generations of girls are given opportunities and encouraged to do the same. Both the sons
and daughters of the women involved in the project will grow up witnessing and accepting female participation as a positive and natural occurrence.

F.3 How have beneficiaries participated in decision making in this project?

Focus groups are held with beneficiaries to sensitise them on the importance of active participation in the project, the value of their voices and opinions
and to encourage them to make key decisions. Through these focus groups, beneficiaries in each village have made several key decisions, including:
where to set up the gardens; which types of vegetable crop to grow; which community members should be selected for training and capacity-building
according to need/vulnerability, etc

G: RISK

G.1 What were the main risks which you identified and realised over the life-time of the project, and what actions did you take?

None of the risks identified in the original risk matrix occurred. Therefore, beyond the actions outlined within the risk matrix – e.g. continuous
monitoring of the security and epidemic situations, using participatory methods to ensure community acceptance, social cohesion, ownership etc. –
no other actions have been required.

The risks identified were: Ebola, migration, poor rainfall, and the presidential election under tension. All have been addressed in the ways described
in the report. IR Niger is taking part in cluster meetings regarding Ebola and has prepared contingency plans should it cross the Nigerien border.
Also, IRN has developed a contingency plan in case the political situation was to degenerate.

To mitigate against high volumes of urban migration for economic reasons, IR Niger supported the beneficiaries to produce cash crops like Moringa
which could help increase their income. As for poor rain fall, the budget has been realigned so that savings from other budget lines can now be
utilised to purchase extra vegetable seeds, allowing beneficiaries to carry out irrigated gardening all year round, even when the rains fail and rain fed
crop harvests are low.

An updated risk matrix can be found below:

Risk Risk value Mitigation Measures/Plan B

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Poor social cohesion or
conflicts over resources
hamper, curb or terminate
project activities
On-going conflict in Mali
may lead to an influence on
conflict dynamics spilling
over into Niger and the
project area
Selection of stakeholders
may cause negative
exposure to the projects;
influencing the situation
negatively
Poor community
participation
Vulnerable groups or
individuals are by-passed by
project activities
Risks of inadequate
involvement of key partners
but also local populations in
the wider project DRR and
CCA objectives
- The project proposes activities that will strengthen social cohesion
and peaceful coexistence, support peace building and mechanisms
for conflict prevention through an inclusive approach based on the
involvement of all beneficiaries in the selection and implementation of
very low activities and services
- Proper agreements and commitments will be sought with
communities, traditional and local authorities to avoid problems
related to land ownership and to allow proper activity implementation
frameworks
- A continuous monitoring of security and conflict in neighbouring
Mali will be in place in accordance with IR Niger security plan
Reduced - Target area selection take situation in neighbouring Mali into
account to prevent that conflict escalation becomes obstacle to
project implementation
- Establishment of good project design and implementation
approaches with participatory and inclusive selection processes.
Communication of predictable criteria including gender sensitive
ones
Low
- Adoption of implementation strategies, sourced from IRW code of
conduct, to maintain balanced neutral relationships with communities
and with local implementing partners but also to prevent influences
on or by groups or local authority
Project approach is based on participatory and inclusive identification
of project’s activities, a community-demand driven approach
very low embedded in a comprehensive and effective village engagement
strategy to build beneficiaries ‘confidence, skills and ability to
cooperate and fully engage in project implementation
The project will inform all community members about project’s
activities and who qualifies to benefit from the interventions, sites and
beneficiaries selection criteria will be discussed and agreed through
very low
an inclusive participatory process with the community at the project’s
start, so that the intervention does not heighten risk and insecurity for
anyone
- Ensuring adherence through proper communication strategies and
consultation with communities and key DRR and CCA partners.
Ensuring proper knowledge sharing, communication and consultation
of local dynamics in relation to national and regional ones
Moderate
- Best modalities will be set for timely mobilization and delivery of
technical/scientific supports from local partners, NGOs, other UN
agencies and local/national government moral and high level quality
support /commitment
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 Risk of inadequate Involvement of beneficiaries in the whole process of problem
ownership and failure to identification to ranking/prioritizing solution. Appropriate methods
sustain results and channels in awareness and information dissemination will
very low ensure that community members are included in the information and
decision-making loop. Schemes for project implementation will take
into account, whenever possible, preferences of the community.
Education / structuring / training to ensure project continuity
Outbreak of epidemics Islamic Relief Niger in collaboration with government, UN and health
(cholera and meningitis) and nutrition clusters’ partners will strengthen the monitoring system.
moderate
IR Niger can use the emergency fund to support preventive and
curative activities
Delay of funds Best modalities for timely mobilization and delivery of financial
very low
supports to carry out project activities as planned will be made
Poor rainfall affecting Provide extra seeds for irrigated gardening so that, when rainfall is so
rainfed crop yield moderate low that even drought-resistant rainfed crops cannot grow, food
security will still be bolstered
Migration to the city for Focus on growing cash crops (e.g. moringa) to ensure that
economic reasons when moderate households are able to earn enough income to purchase food when
food supplies are low crop yields are low
Ebola IR Niger will take place in cluster meetings and will develop
Very low
contingency plans in case the disease does cross borders into Niger
Political crisis IRN has developed a contingency plan in case the political situation
moderate
was to degenerate

G.2 Describe any incidents of alleged fraud or corruption which took place during the project

There is no evidence of any suspected or actual fraud or corruption involvindg DfiD funds.

G.3 Quality of financial management

This project does not work with any non-Islamic Relief partners in the field, with all activities carried out via our own field office, so financial
management is carried out by IR Niger. As for every IR Niger project, all expenditure relating to this project has been recorded on Microsoft AX
software, enabling IR to view and track all purchases, salaries and other outgoings to ensure that funds have been spent correctly and within budget.
Every month, a budget vs actual report is generated to track financial management.

As described in the value for money’ section, all major purchases were put out to tender and bids were evaluated to select the best value supplier,
10
according to Islamic Relief procurement policy; therefore, all procurement processes have been fair and transparent.

All finance managers of Islamic Relief field offices are trained up by Islamic Relief Worldwide finance staff; the new finance Manager in IR Niger had
therefore already received the necessary support and training from IRW to carry out his role. Further, the Regional Finance Manager for West Africa
visited IR Niger in 2015 to assess its financial processes and mechanisms, finding them satisfactory.

G.4 What do you intend to do with project assets?

The office furniture and equipment purchased by Islamic Relief Niger with the funds of DifD project will serve for future project.

H: MONITORING & EVALUATION

H.1
What have you learnt during the project about how best to achieve If applicable, what will you do differently in future interventions
project outputs and outcome from the following sources of as a result?
information?
Routine project monitoring  Elaborating beneficiairy database at the beginning of the
project for each activity to avoid double counting,
 Conducted technical monitoring with the district technical agents,
 Coordinate with the government representative, INGOs, and
 Monthly and Weekly field visits,
NGOs, intervening in the area to ensure the most vunerable
 Post distribution visits
without any support
Internal or independent evaluations/reviews you have commissioned (please  Quantitative survey to measure accurately the indicators level
attach these to completion review). so that real impact of the project could be documented
 Weekly, monthly and quarterly reviews enable to focus on the scientifically,
achievements  Quantitative survey for post distribution monitoring and
evaluation.
Beneficiary feedback
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  Focus group with women and men to collect feedback from  Installed adapted complain system in each village,
beneficiairies  Provide literacy training to beneficiairies to enable them to
 Feedback from beneficiaries enabled to readjust activities (example: document informations
fish farming and goat race to be distributed

Other evidence/research about the effectiveness of the type of project you

are undertaking

H.2 If you were to start the project again, what would you do differently?

 The project will focus more on developmental aspect. That will include large scale water mobilisation facility to enable more land to be
covered by irrigation since drought is structural in Niger. We will create linkage between beneficiaries and micro-finance agencies for
warrantage activities and encourage them to start IGAs by purchasing small ruminant for fattening.
 The cash for work will be conducted in longer period and guardian will be hired for at least 24 months to enable trees to grow properly,
 The project will enable seeds production to be conducted under irrigated condition to avoid effect of drought,
 The project will include training and make available transportation means to relevant government district agencies,
 The ten village will be linked to the existing commune level DRR/CCA committee and be part of actors in the implementation of its plan
instead of creating new one.

Do you intend to undertake any further evaluation of this project? If so, please provide the information on what this evaluation will cover, who will be
conducting it, and when the findings are likely to be available?
No.

I : COMMUNICATIONS

Summary of Communications Achievements

Appeal name
Appeal dates
Main communication partners
Number of donors to appeal
Number of Opportunities to view –
Appeal
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Number of Opportunities to view –
Report back (date and comms
partner?)

Case studies, photos and documentary are done by IR UK and Islam Chanel.

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