Niger: Evaluating the Irrigation and Market Access Project

The activities of the IMAP include (1) constructing new irrigated perimeter(s) in the Dosso-Gaya area that serve the Ouna-Kouanza and Sia areas, (2) rehabilitating irrigation infrastructure land in the Konni area, (3) training farmers, (4) promoting policy reform, and (5) upgrading rural roads and highways to connect the Dosso-Gaya perimeters and facilitate trade. These complementary activities are designed to overcome constraints in access to irrigation, seeds, new technologies and enhanced production practices, and extension services, to improve resilience to droughts in the dry season and bolster agricultural productivity and sales throughout the year. 

Given the advanced implementation schedule in the Konni perimeter (as opposed to Dosso-Gaya), Mathematica is conducting a mixed-methods assessment and outcomes analysis to evaluate the implementation, results, and sustainability of the rehabilitation of the Konni perimeter and complementary IMAP activities, including farmer training and policy reforms. The Konni perimeter evaluation studies the outcomes that follow the provision of irrigated land on the perimeter as compensation for persons displaced by the project and recalculates the economic rate of return of the perimeter. First, to address questions related to program implementation and sustainability of the activities under IMAP, we are conducting a qualitative analysis through document review, targeted key informant interviews, and discussions with focus groups. Second, to assess changes in outcomes, we propose to conduct a quantitative performance evaluation (pre-post analysis) to estimate changes in outcomes spanning the intervention’s duration. The pre-post analysis will be based on survey data collected at baseline, midline, and endline. 

A highlight of this project is that Mathematica is collaborating with NASA and RTI International on analyses of remotely sensed satellite and drone imagery to complement estimates of crop yields derived from household survey data and (possibly) crop cuts. Combining data from these sources will enable improved yield measurement. Furthermore, seasonal satellite and drone imagery collected from the Konni perimeter and adjacent areas will facilitate developing yield estimates in the seasons between the baseline, midline, and endline surveys, as well as in nearby areas outside the irrigation perimeter.

This evaluation will contribute to a better understanding of the economic value of irrigation investments in the context of variable and changing production and yields.