The Government of Niger and the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE), in collaboration with IFAD’s West and Central Africa Division, co-organized a virtual event for the Niger Country Strategy and Programme Evaluation (CSPE), as a final step in the evaluation process.

The virtual event was held on 15 April 2021 and entailed the participation of representatives from the Government of Niger (the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Planning, the initiative “Les Nigériens nourrissent les Nigériens”;  and the Ministry of Infrastructure), representatives of public sector institutions and national stakeholders, IFAD Management and staff (including IOE), multilateral and bilateral partners, and selected private sector organizations.

The objectives of this event were to discuss the main issues emerging from the Niger CSPE, and the opportunities and challenges of the IFAD-Government partnership in the future.

Mr Oumarou Ousmane, Director of Investment Monitoring, Ministry of Planning, acted as Master of Ceremonies. Mr Iro Souley, Director of Development Planning, Ministry of Planning, acted as Chairperson of the workshop. Mr Indran Naidoo, Director, IOE, introduced the event, while Mr Donal Brown, Associate Vice President, IFAD, provided an introductory statement. HE Dr Alambedji Abba Issa, Minister of Agriculture, delivered opening remarks.

Mr Fabrizio Felloni, Deputy Director, IOE, presented the main findings, conclusions and recommendations of the Niger CSPE. Following this, Mr Boubacar Altiné, Senior National Technical Assistant and Coordinator of the IFAD National Representation and Technical Assistance Unit, expressed his comments on his experience with the IFAD programme.

Mr Ousmane moderated a lively and fruiful Q&A session. Then, a reflection on the future direction of the country strategy for Niger was held by Ms Nadine Gbossa, Regional Director, West and Central Africa Division (WCA), IFAD, Mr Amath Pathe Sene, Country Director, WCA, and Mr Lawan Cherif, Country Programme Officer, WCA.

Mr Souley delivered closing remarks. Mr Naidoo expressed his gratitude to the evaluation team and participants, and Mr Abdou Chaibou, Director of Studies and Planning, Ministry of Agriculture, declared the workshop closed.