Resilience and Economic Growth in the Sahel - Enhanced Resilience

The project is implemented by NCBA CLUSA under a Cooperative Agreement with USAID, with a focus on consolidating and sustaining gains made to date, and deepening the learning and dissemination of strong resilience-building approaches. The project's interventions are offered as a menu of resilience activities to consolidated project groups at the community level, which are then managed and continued by the Comités Locaux de Développement (Local Development Committees) in Niger and the Conseils Villageois de Développement (Village Development Councils) in Burkina Faso. The project's sustainability strategy involves building the capacity of local institutions to self-govern, secure funding, and initiate, lead, and coordinate resilience initiatives. REGIS-ER's 8 programs have achieved notable successes during the quarter. In Program 1 – Habbanayé plus Animal Feed and Health, villages in Zinder Region have established habbanayé monitoring committees, which are functioning successfully and have begun to organize transfers of animal assets from current beneficiaries to future ones. In Program 2 – Horticulture, 7 participants have started working as Horticulture Community-Based Solution Providers (CBSPs), providing producers with access to vegetable seeds in time for the start of the growing season. In Program 3 – Access to Financial Services, an encouraging 87% of SECCA groups that functioned during the previous SECCA cycle resumed their activities this quarter after the rainy season break, demonstrating the members' belief in community finance as a means of building resilience. In Program 4 – Resilient Production Systems, REGIS-ER and AG are providing support to Agriculture Relays (RAs) on the promotion of Purdue Improved Cowpea Storage (PICS) bags, creating a dynamic business environment in Zinder, Maradi, and Kaya Regions. Local authorities have expressed support for the REGIS-ER sustainability strategy, with notable adherents including the Canton Chief of Bandé (Zinder), the Deputy Mayor of Guidan Roumdji (Maradi), and the Mayor of Barsalogho (Kaya). These officials have publicly expressed their determination to rise to the challenge and have agreed to share REGIS-ER's strategy with their partners and colleagues. In Program 6 – Water Services, 8 CBSP Manual Borehole Drillers trained in Tillabery South continued to develop their businesses, providing a key service to market gardeners. During the quarter, they drilled 227 boreholes manually for 94 clients, earning 6,427,500 CFA ($11,739). In Program 7 – Hygiene and Sanitation, 9 out of 10 project-supported communes in Niger have started taking an active role in following up on community commitments after the triggering phase of Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS). The REGIS-ER project's achievements during the quarter demonstrate its commitment to building resilience and economic growth in the Sahel region. The project's focus on consolidating and sustaining gains made to date, and deepening the learning and dissemination of strong resilience-building approaches, is critical to creating a platform of local actors and institutions capable of carrying out and strengthening resilience work over time.