Highlights:

• World Bank urges Niger to boost irrigation as climate shocks threaten food security.

• Just 2% of farmland is irrigated, yet it produces a third of Niger’s agricultural GDP. 

• Niger targets 31,200 hectares of new and rehabilitated irrigated land by 2027 under national expansion plan.

The World Bank is urging Niger to expand irrigation as climate change threatens to destabilize food production in the arid West African country. A new economic report from April 2025 highlights irrigation as critical to securing Niger’s food systems and insulating agriculture from increasing droughts and erratic rainfall.

Only 2% of Niger’s farmland is currently irrigated, yet that narrow strip accounts for nearly 33% of the nation’s agricultural GDP, according to the bank. Most irrigation takes place in the southern regions of Tahoua and Maradi, covering roughly 20,000 hectares. That figure is expected to double by 2027, with recent growth focused near the Niger River and in groundwater-rich areas along the southern border. 

“Irrigation is mainly practiced in the regions of Tahoua and Maradi, where 20,000 hectares of land are currently irrigated and should double by 2027. Recent expansion has focused on scattered localities along the southern border with high groundwater levels and areas near the Niger River,” the report reads.

Niger, which produces onions for export and rice for domestic consumption on irrigated land, lags behind regional neighbors like Mali and Nigeria in irrigation coverage. But the World Bank says there is untapped potential.

It recommends promoting small and medium-scale irrigation systems, describing them as cost-effective and efficient. The bank also urges authorities to rehabilitate existing infrastructure to ensure past investments are not lost.

“This advantage can be maximized through necessary reforms and capacity building,” the report notes, emphasizing better water governance, improved maintenance, stronger water user associations, and clearer procurement systems.

The call comes as Niger faces rising climate threats. “By the 2050s, median temperatures are projected to climb by 2.9°C and rainfall by 38%, which could significantly reduce crop yields across the country.”

In response, the government launched the Large-Scale Irrigation Program (PGI 2024–2027), aiming to rehabilitate 10,000 hectares and develop an additional 21,200 hectares of irrigated land within three years.

This article was initially published in French by Espoir Olodo

Edited in English by Ola Schad Akinocho