Agriculture contributes about 33% of Niger’s gross domestic product and employs roughly 71% of the working population. As in most sub-Saharan African countries, smallholder farmers dominate agricultural production and often organise themselves into cooperatives.
In Niger, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations plans to launch a new US$2.7 million agricultural project to strengthen farmers’ organizations in the Dosso and Tillabéri regions. The Global Agriculture and Food Security Program finances the project. Prime Minister Mahaman Ali Lamine Zeine and FAO Niger Representative Al Hassan Cissé signed a memorandum of understanding in Niamey on 13th December 2025.
According to information reported by the Nigerien Press Agency, the three-year initiative will primarily benefit the Federation Mooriben. The federation ranks among the country’s largest farmers’ organizations. It includes 29 agricultural cooperative unions across the Niamey, Dosso and Tillabéri regions and operates through 1,541 groups located in 732 villages. The project aims to improve agricultural production, nutrition, environmental outcomes and living conditions for beneficiaries.
The project will focus on three main pillars. FAO will strengthen the organisational, technical and administrative capacities of the Federation Mooriben. FAO will also support producers in developing agricultural value chains that withstand climate constraints. In addition, the project will ensure coordination, monitoring and capitalisation of activities to guarantee transparency and replication of best agricultural practices.
“We will particularly strengthen farmers’ capacities to mobilise and manage investments, to carry out sustainable and resilient income-generating activities, with special attention to women and young people,” Al Hassan Cissé said. This objective carries strategic importance because farmers’ organizations play a central role in agricultural development policies and act as effective communication bridges between government authorities and rural producers.
Moreover, farmers’ organizations aim to promote agricultural development and support farmers’ activities by providing technical assistance, market information and intermediary services between producers and buyers.
In Niger, the Federation Mooriben reported in 2024 that it mobilised CFA395.4 million from various partners to implement projects ranging from seed production to agricultural research and innovation. Against this backdrop, the new FAO project strengthens efforts that the federation has already deployed to support agricultural development.
