Debugging agriculture

Three major challenges face farmers in Gao Banda village, Niger: the persistence of harmful pests, the reduction in crop yields – caused by the toxicity of current pesticides, which damages the soil and product quality – and historically low market prices for agricultural producers. 

To remedy this, residents have turned to an organic alternative in recent months: neem seeds.

The fruit from the neem tree acts as a natural, non-toxic pesticide. Local farmers have employed this technique for decades, but never on a wide scale due to a costly and difficult extraction process. 

With a grant from the CRS-led SUR1M (Scaling-Up Resilience to Climate Extremes for over 1 Million People in the Niger River Basin of Niger and Mali) programme in Niger, a local branch of the Union of Agricultural Producers – created in 2000 to boost agricultural production in Niger – is scaling up this traditional technique.

To date, the branch has 617 members, over 90% of whom are women. 

The project aims to raise awareness and interest – limited to date – in organic pesticides, and study their environmental and health impacts. 

Thirty-five of the union’s members were initially trained by CRS with the help of the local agricultural department of Ouallam to extract the neem seed. 

This group will then train their fellow farmers so that they understand the process as well.

The village now owns two industrial presses which can be hand-operated by trained farmers to extract the neem seed oil in a more efficient process.

Although only 35 members were trained on the usage of the machine, all 617 members were briefed on the benefits of organic pesticides. 

Production of the organic pesticide in powder form – so that it is easier to transport –  is ready to start and then be sold at the market.

Sales and therefore usage of this product increased dramatically in the local commune of Ouallam and the adjacent commune of Simiri.

The effects on human and animal health and the local environment have been widely praised by local farmers.

Haoua Amada, a resident of Gao Banda and a beneficiary of the project, said that “when we used chemical pesticides, the soil and groundwater were contaminated with extracts of chemical pesticides, which affected our crops.”  

“The consequences were disastrous; we were food insecure, we suffered from poisoning and lost in daily income,” she added.

“But with the support of SUR1M we produce more because our cultures are not infected. We even allow our children to play in the garden now as there is no more risk of poisoning.”

In addition to its agricultural impact, wider use of neem seeds could create a new market at the national level, and generate employment and sustained revenue for its producers. 

Amada added that “before, I used to get only 500 CFA francs for a bucket of tomatoes because half of them rotted on the way to the market as a result of chemical pesticides.”

“Now the basket is selling for up to 1,500 CFA francs on market days with the new, organic pesticide. Because of this, I can count on a monthly revenue of 10,000 CFA that I use for school lunches for my kids and for supplemental food for my family.”

Local officials from the commune agricultural department, who helped with the initial training, are also helping to monitor the usage of the organic pesticide and to promote its implementation throughout the entire commune.

While the programme is still in its relative infancy, the union of producers is making the organic pesticide powder more widely available beyond the communes of Ouallam and Simiri on a trial basis for local farmers, in order to publicise and market its benefits.