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Bank Agricultural Strategy

1.26    Niger*8 principal objective in ita development strategy ia to

achieve auatained and auatainable per capita inceme growth with eąuity. The five-year plan for 1987-1991 atatea four prlnciplea of rural development strategy aa foliowat

(a)    food self-sufficlencys

(b)    preaervation and reatoration of productlve potentialj

(c)    diver8iflcation of production and increase of value-added in order to improve rural incomes and living atandardsj and

(d)    particlpation of the rural population In their own development activitie8 and a transfer of responslbllity to them.

1.27 The achievement of auatained and auatainable per capita income growth with equity is a foraidable challenge in Niger and requires not only profound inatitutional reforms, but alao significant human resource development. The atracegy for the Nigerien agricultural sector should accent the following principal element* s (a) natural resource management; (b) improvement in rural sector inatitutions t (c) human resource development; and (d) technology generation and diaseminatlon.

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1*28 Futurę lending will emphasize natural reaource management and reinforcement of agricultural serwices. The preparation of natural resource management projecta, becauae of their innovative and site-specific naturę, reąuires the ezecutlon of pilot operations to teat approaches and identify the types of activitiea to be promoted. This preparation phase will be ezecuted in the framework of the on-going Smali Rural Operations (SRO) project. The SRO project aims at establiahing the institutional capability to prepare, appraise, ezecute and evaluate smali rural operations, which include long-term environment protection works as well as short-term productive inveatments. Decentralization of inwestment decisions and financial management ia enviaaged, and district Staff are ezpected to work in a multidisciplinary team*

1.29 The strengthening of agricultural serwices will focus on agricultural research and agricultural eztenaion. Agricultural research is a long-term endeavor reąuiring institution-building and continuous commitment by Government and donors. The national agricultural research structure should be strengthened to improve research priority-setting, research programming, budgeting and financial management, aa well aa research Staff planning and training. The link between research and eztension services must be significantly ixnproved for timely dissemination of research recommendations • The research programs should place greater effort on production systems, multidisciplinary research and on-farm trials. The initiative for improving eztension serwices under PPF financing will be continued in the framework of the SRO project and during this pilot phase the wiability of a national eztension program would be tested.