Niger: Risk Assessment Workshop and Capacity Development Training

PARM organized a National Stakeholder Workshop on the Risk Assessment Study, together with a Capacity Development Seminar. Both took place in Niamey, from 7-11 December 2015.

In Niger, farmers are faced with a vast array of risks, from droughts to locust outbreaks, which can unchain series of negative events, with a high level of price volatility. To manage these risks, smallholder farmers often lack the knowledge and tools required, which is why PARM is working both in establishing a comprehensive overview of the risks present in the country, and to build capacity to mainstream the holistic approach to agricultural risk management into national policies. PARM has been working in close partnership with the government to identify and address knowledge gaps following a risk assessment study undertaken by the World Bank in 2013. PARM’s risk assessment study therefore focused on two areas:

Access to finance and rural credit
Access to markets at the regional and national levels

After the drafting of the Risk Assessment Study by Institut de Recherches et d’Applications des Méthodes de développement (IRAM), PARM organized a National Stakeholder Workshop to present the study, exchange with relevant stakeholders and gather their feedback to be incorporated into the final document.

National Stakeholder Workshop on the Risk Assessment Study

A National Stakeholder Workshop took place on 10 December 2015 in Niamey, in collaboration with the Government of Niger, represented by the HC3N and in strategic partnership with NEPAD. The objective of the workshop was to present and discuss the Risk Assessment Study conducted to complement the previous World Bank Risk Assessment Study and identify priorities on risks and tools. More specifically, participants worked on the validation of the risk prioritization proposed in the study, and on the potential tools that could address these. In addition to this, they identified areas for more in-depth research, such as information systems, and a mapping of all existing initiatives in agricultural risk management.

Capacity Development Seminar

A Capacity Development Training was also organized in collaboration with HC3N on 9 December 2015 in Niamey. It was organized with Agrhymet, a research institution very active in the field of agricultural risk management in Niger.

The main objectives of the training were to:

Provide trainees with the critical capacity to understand the meaning of holistic approach to agricultural risk management
Give participants tools and knowledge to analyze and manage the main agriculture risks affecting smallholders
Discuss the risk prioritization of the Risk Assessment Study with relevant stakeholders

The workshop comprised several sessions. The morning sessions were dedicated to providing participants with an overview of the main concept in Agricultural Risk Management, with two presentation on the definition of risks in agriculture, and on how to assess and prioritize risks in agriculture. The afternoon sessions were dedicated to group work on these issues, so as to allow participants to exchange on their experiences and apply the theoretical concepts to their work and specific issues.

The workshop gathered around 30 key stakeholders who expressed a strong interest for agricultural risk management and PARM.

Participants of the Capacity Development Seminar held in Niamey on 9 December 2015.

Next steps

National elections will take place in Niger in early 2016. Because of the multiple changes that this will bring in the government, the PARM process will slow down momentarily. However, the final version of the Risk Assessment Study will be available shortly, as well as the Workshop Reports for both the National Stakeholder Workshop and the Capacity Development Seminar. PARM will then begin the Tools Assessment/Policy Dialogue phase, with the launching of a feasibility study for specific tools to manage agricultural risks.