As part of SNV Niger’s project and program monitoring activities, the Country Director of SNV Niger initiated periodic field monitoring missions to assess the implementation of activities on the ground. In this context, a field visit to the Pro-ARIDES vegetable farmer field school site was organized, in which the Country Director of CARE International, SNV’s consortium partner on Pro-ARIDES, also participated.
On April 23, 2022, the Country Directors of SNV Niger and CARE International led a field mission to the Pro-ARIDES program sites to review the program’s on-the-ground implementation and, more importantly, to engage directly with the program beneficiaries.
The mission visited the farmer field school site in Arewa, located in the commune of Galmi in the Malbaza department, during an open day for harvest and weighing organized on the site. A total of 20 learners, including 12 women and 8 men, were trained at this site. According to the local site facilitator, only three learners were not members of an existing farmers’ organization (OP). The other 17 came from four OPs in the village of Arewa and surrounding areas, with each OP comprising 25 to 30 members. Thus, over 100 individuals are indirectly benefiting from the training.
The mission served as an assessment of the effectiveness of biopesticides in controlling onion thrips. Three biopesticide treatments were used in the farmer field school training: one based on tobacco, another on chili, and a third on neem leaves. The learners were also trained in composting techniques. Preliminary results, as analyzed by the learners, indicated that the most effective treatment was the neem leaf-based treatment, followed by chili, with tobacco in third place.
In addition to the direct replication of the biopesticide and composting techniques by all the learners on their own plots, the facilitator and learners reported that 30 other individuals replicated the composting technique and around 50 others (both men and women) replicated the biopesticide treatments on their own plots.
“I personally trained four women on biopesticide treatment techniques, and each of them successfully applied the treatment on her own plot,” confirmed Mrs. Ibeda Adamou, who herself was trained by a farmer field school participant.
After engaging with the two Country Directors (SNV and CARE), the participants expressed their satisfaction and pride in the results achieved. They thanked Pro-ARIDES for the support and requested further capacity-building, particularly in preparation for the upcoming rainy season farming campaign.
Both Country Directors expressed their satisfaction with the visit and the opportunity to exchange directly with the beneficiaries. Mr. Mamadou Diallo, SNV’s Country Director, was especially pleased that the learners were eager to receive more training on agricultural techniques to improve their yields.
It was then recommended to the facilitator and site supervisor to continue the process by evaluating the effects of the three biopesticide treatments on onion preservation.
Before visiting the site, the two Country Directors and their delegation paid a courtesy visit to the Prefect of Malbaza, who expressed his appreciation for the Pro-ARIDES program and congratulated the team on the results already achieved in the implementation of the activities.