Key policies and governance approach

The development planning of Niger envisions the country to embrace sustainable development, fight poverty, and provide food security. The current key development document of Niger is the Sustainable Development and Inclusive Growth Strategy Niger 2035 (SDIGS) [5].

Successes and remaining challenges  

In order to achieve the aspirations of the Nigerien people by 2035, a break with the development policies that have proved to be ineffective up to now is necessary. This is why it is necessary to make pragmatic public policy choices and to prioritize them judiciously. In this respect, a set of strategies - control of population growth, human capital formation, modernization of the rural world, revitalization of the private sector, modernization of public administration and security of persons and property - should be implemented coherently and simultaneously.

The most crucial aspect is undoubtedly the slowing down of the population growth rate, which is currently 3.9% per year and is expected to reach 2.56% in 2035, representing a fertility rate of 5 children per woman. To achieve this goal, it will be necessary to instill a dynamic of social transformation that includes men and women in a profound change of their aspirations and roles within their families and communities [5].

The formation of quality human capital would be a determining factor in ensuring inclusive and sustained growth capable of contributing to the achievement of the objectives by 2035. For the successful implementation of development policies, major reforms are essential. Indeed, these reforms should focus on administrative, judicial and political governance in order to have an efficient public administration for the delivery of quality services. The modernization of the rural world - involving the use of modern farming techniques, access to water, energy, infrastructure and the value chain - would increase GDP growth in the rural sector by about 6% per year over the period, a rate faster than the increase in the rural population (3.9% per year), which would allow an increase in per capita income of nearly 2.3% per year for agricultural households. This increase in farm income, supported by pro-poor and inclusive food security incentives, would support the rapid development of the economy as a whole. The private sector should also be revitalized so that it can fully play its role as a driver of economic recovery. Thus, ambitious reforms would be required to provide a flexible and appropriate regulatory framework [5].

Initiatives and Development Plans

To put the country on a pathway of sustainable development, the Government of Niger has developed several strategies, policies, and action plans, including the 2012-2015 Economic and Social Development Plan (PDES) and the “Nigeriens Nourish the Nigeriens” Initiative (I3N).  

The 3N Initiative is the Government’s first centralised initiative to combat hunger and land degradation. Developed in an inclusive and participatory process, the 3N Initiative is a large-scale and cross-sectoral policy for sustainable agricultural development, which aims at increasing livestock, agricultural and forest productivity and enhancing the socio-economic resilience of farmers and herders. Thanks to the initiative, Niger has made significant progress in combating land degradation and in reducing hunger. By 2015, the initiative had, for example, restored 218,219 ha of degraded land, which is83 per cent of the 260,000 ha target set by the first five-year plan. To increase the resilience of vulnerable communities, it set up numerous integrated service platforms to support farmers and herders, spread irrigation systems and distributed 120 000 small cattle. As a result, the proportion of people suffering from hunger was reduced by 50 per cent since 2011. Due to its ambition, inclusiveness and encouraging results, the 3N Initiative received Future Policy Bronze Award 2017 [6].

Goals and Ambitions

The objective of the SDDCI Niger 2035 is to build a modern, democratic and united country, well governed and peaceful, open to the world, as well as an emerging economy, based on a balanced sharing of the fruits of progress. sharing of the fruits of progress. In this case, in 2035, Niger's economy could grow by 6 to 7% annually, and the level of GDP would more than triple. More importantly, per capita income would have doubled from 2015 and its growth rate would reach 3.8%. Moreover, in rural areas, per capita income would also have almost doubled [5].