"Children and grown-ups feel ill and we are becoming weaker every day" - CARE responds to the food crisis in Niger
By Ida Sem Fossvik , 21 June 2010
The food crisis is a brutal reality for millions of people in Niger. CARE has large ongoing programmes aimed at preventing the hunger associated with predictable droughts, but when the crisis is already here, the main priority is to help those most affected - the very poorest.
"We’re working in a total of 1000 villages in the Tahoua region. CARE distributes food, and it is especially important to ensure that children from birth to three years get sufficient nutritious food. In addition, we give people money so they can buy food at the local markets. And we have cash-for-work programs," says Stephane Petitprez, Head of Emergency in CARE Niger.
The cash-for-work programmes are popular in Niger. Households spend a few hours working together on local projects or working for CARE. The pay they get is a bit more than they would get if they spent the whole day working for other farmers.
"This gives the poorest farmers a possibility of earning some money in the morning, and at the same time they can spend the afternoons working in their own fields," explains Petitprez.
The programme also has an objective when it comes to the protection of natural resources, for example fixation of sand dunes and making sure the soil where farmers grow their crops have time to recuperate between the harvests.
This is one of CARE’s long term development strategies that directly address the underlying causes of food insecurity, such as decreasing agricultural productivity and desert expansion. "It is a very important part of our work," Petitprez stresses.
Reduced harvests and expensive grains
"The cash for work program is the one reason we’re still standing," says Ali Chitoumou.
There's only one bundle of millet left in Ali Chitoumou's grainery. In a normal year he harvests 300 bundles, this year he only got 20 bundles. Ida Sem Fossvik/CARE
Every morning he goes to work for a few hours. The money he earns is spent on an evening meal for his family. He also tries to gather some wood on his way home, which he sells in the village.
"I usually buy cassava powder. When we mix it with water, it swells and the mix fills you up, but doesn’t give you a lot of nutrition. Children and grown-ups feel ill and we are becoming weaker every day,' Ali says, pointing to some of his children, who are showing clear signs of malnutrition.
Ali takes us to see his grain storage. At the bottom is one bundle of millet, the grains he usually cultivates. This is all that’s left from last year’s harvest.
"In a normal year I usually harvest around 300 kg of millet. This year, all I managed to get was 100 kg, he explains.
Most farmers in Niger are not self sufficient, not even when their crops yield good harvests. But even though there is still food to buy on the market, that’s not an option for Ali.
"The millet on the market is far too expensive. The prices have increased a lot and some commodities have doubled in price. I barely have enough money to buy cassava powder," he says.
One of his wives has already left. She took four of the children with her, hoping to find a better life elsewhere. Ali doesn’t know where they’ve gone. He has to stay home and help his other wife find food for the eleven children still living at home.
"If we get enough rain and the cash for work programme continues, we’ll be fine. Then I can buy seeds and plant so that we get some food. If we’re in for another bad year, I’ll have to look for work elsewhere and send money back home," he sighs.
Help CARE to respond to Ali and the 7.8 million people facing food insecurity in Niger. Donate now.
Newsroom
