Making the most of millet, Niger's staple crop

About the partnership

Niger

Staple Crops

Status:

Active

Millet is a crop that grows very well in semi-arid and arid areas and has a relatively high nutritional value compared to other staple crops. It is therefore a crop with high potential in a country like Niger, both for farmers as well as consumers. Despite the potential, the production levels of millet are relatively low, and the sector and market mostly unorganized. For that reason, the Federation of Unions of Farmer Groups of Niger (FUGPN-Mooriben) wants to partner with 2SCALE to revitalize the millet sector in Niger and to enable small producers to produce millet of high nutritional quality by promoting the Chakti millet variety and to provide bio-fortified millet (with iron and zinc) to contribute to improving the nutritional status of rural households, and provide economic opportunities for women through millet processing. In doing so, Mooriben hopes to optimize the annual production of millet and to bring millet to the market that meets the required international standards for grain quality, and to create jobs and broader economic opportunities in the process, especially for women and youth.

About the business champion

The Federation of Unions of Farmer Groups of Niger (FUGPN-Mooriben) is a coalition of 30 agricultural unions in Niger. Established in February 1993, Mooriben works to improve the lives of the agricultural communities it serves. Almost 60,000 individuals are members of Mooriben, from 1,500 groups. It is a registered cooperative society and complies with OHADA standards. The vision of the FUGPN-Mooriben is to build with its members a professional farming family and to transform the agriculture practiced by its members. Additionally the aim is to improve the living conditions of its members by ensuring sustainable economic viability of agricultural production systems.

Key interventions