5340783278

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(h) coordination of ezternal assistance amongst all donora fundlng agricultural reaearch in Niger.

Beneflta Risksi

and

A wid* spectrum of farmere and liwestock owners standa to benefit from the development and diaaemination of new technologie*. The project ie detigned to addrefs the country*8 increaaingly serioua probierni of enwironmental degradation and decreaeing productivity. The closer integration of research on crope₉ livestock and forestry will contribute to the deuelopoent of suatainable farming systems that will assist with the reetoration and conserwation of soil fertility and 80 with crop productiwity. An increased emphasis on adaptive research* with the eatension servi.ce and the farming community participating in the research process, will assist with the adaptation of eaisting technologies to the needs of the farming community. This will be further strengthened through the ciosa collaboration of this project with that proposed for agricultural eztension. Both the long-term needs of the environment and the most imnediate technical problems of farmera will thus receive high priority.

The greatest risk faced by the project is the potential difficulty of developing feasible economic Solutions to the degradation of the environment and economic technical recommendations for increased crop and livestock productivity in the contezt of the particularly difficult condition of agriculture in Niger. Howewer, the non-project risk in the decline of fertility₉ soil degradation and over ezploitation is conaiderable and research is essential to combat this. Potential risks also reside in the relevance of priority research program* in taking into account farmer“s needs and resource conservation₉ and in the adeąuacy of the linkages betwe en research and eztension. The representation oZ eztension Staff and of farming community representatives on regional and national Management Councils₉ the direct participation of research Staff in the training of ertension workera₉ and the reorganization of INRAN with new statutes would all help lessen thoae risks. Other risks are inherent in all research project*₉ namely difficulties in obtaining adequate Staff and fund* for the development of a long-term national research program. These risks could be considered to be relatiwely smali ₉ however₉ because the Government and donor* hawe already shown a strong coranitment to research.

IBRD 21774