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Niger: Countries
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Niger is one of the most fascinating countries of West Africa. Markets where cattle, camels and a range of other goods have been traded for centuries, are some of the most exciting in Africa. The Agadez region is renowned for its internationally famous Cure Salee. This intriguing festival is held in August or September after the rains, somewhere to the west of Agadze. Bororo males, of the nomadic Fula group, in a ceremony called the Gerewol, adorn and beautify themselves so that only the most obstinate female will refuse their advances. The virility test, the Soro is another story altogether.
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Niger is not the only country in West Africa that has been hit with a food crisis. Similar conditions throughout the region—a lethal mix of chronic poverty, drought and locusts—have led to food crises in Mali, Mauritania and Burkina Faso. At present, the situation in these countries is not as severe as in Niger. However, if the international community waits too long to address these potential famines and the conditions which foster poverty, as it did with Niger, millions more people will be pushed to starvation.
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PROLINNOVA in Niger has a different history and takes a different shape as compared to PROLINNOVA in other countries. The past decade a number of organisations in Niger have worked together to bring about deep changes in agricultural research, extension and education in the country. In this they worked according to the same principles that lie at the heart of PROLINNOVA. IFAD in Rome funded these efforts through a series of projects.
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Niger has a very limited transportation network; there is no railroad, and most of the country's all-weather roads are confined to the south and southwest. A major road ... runs N from Zinder, through Agadez (in the Aïr Massif), and into Algeria. Niger is landlocked and has only poor access to the sea.
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Niger's high infant mortality rate is comparable to levels recorded in neighboring countries. However, the child mortality rate (deaths among children between the ages of 1 and 4) is exceptionally high (248 per 1,000) due to generally poor health conditions and inadequate nutrition for most of the country's children. According to the organization Save the Children, Niger has the world's highest infant mortality rate [1]. Nonetheless, Niger has the highest fertility rate in the world (7.2 births per woman); this means that nearly half (49%) of the Nigerien population is under age 15. Between 1996 and 2003, primary school attendance was around 30% [2], including 36% of males and only 25% of females. Additional education occurs through madrassas.
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Niger remains behind the average for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) on most social indicators, but has made improvements in education over the last decade. For example, primary enrolment increased from 24% in 1990 to 38% in 2002. Education is a focus of the President’s Special Programme of poverty reduction projects. In 2002 a ten-year development plan for education (PDDE) was launched in line with the country's Poverty Reduction Strategy.
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