Market study on the financing of small-scale private irrigation in Niger Niger

Context of the service

With temperatures rising 1.5 times faster than the global average, daytime temperatures exceeding 45°C, limited rainfall, prolonged and repeated dry seasons, and an increase in multi-year droughts, Niger is on the frontline of climate change.

However, the country has an irrigable potential of more than 10 million hectares, more than half of which have a water table less than 15 metres deep, making them suitable for small-scale private irrigation, particularly for market gardening

There are many obstacles to exploiting this potential, in particular the lack of financial solutions available to producers to cover the costs of investing in irrigation equipment.

It is in this context that the International Finance Corporation (IFC) asked SalvaTerra, Horus Développement finance and the Nigerien Engineering and Advisory Bureau (BNIC) to carry out a market study on the financing of small-scale private irrigation.

Services provided

SalvaTerra's expertise was mobilized to study the existing and potential demand in terms of irrigation solutions and irrigation financing.

The first step was to identify (i) the production centres for the key crops, their respective production techniques and marketing channels, (ii) the key players involved in the sale and financing of irrigation equipment, (iii) farmers' strategic imperatives and their main constraints, in order to assess the cost-benefit profile of irrigation technologies for the crops identified.

The second step was to analyse the potential demand in terms of irrigation financing by(i) proposing a segmentation of irrigation equipment, (ii) assessing the perceptions of farmers, equipment suppliers and other stakeholders on irrigation technology, (iii) assessing the financial capacity to purchase irrigation equipment.

Summary of the service

Market study for the financing of small-scale private irrigation for vegetable and tree production in Niger on behalf of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), in consortium with Horus Développement Finance and BNIC. Study of the demand for equipment and financing (production areas, existing business models, key players, constraints, etc.), segmentation of the supply of equipment and financing solutions, assessment of trends in access to irrigation financing in Niger.