February 6 – 9, as a part of the the Foresight for Food System Transformation (FoSTr) programme, the Foresight4Food team made an exploratory visit to Niger. The purpose of the visit was to find potential facilitator for the implementation of the FoSTr programme and to introduce the programme to different stakeholders.
The team, represented by Simone van Vugt, Bart de Steenhuijsen Piters, Marthe Diarra from the Wageningen University and Research, met with several stakeholders including INS (Institut National des Statistiques), representative of the High Commissioner I3N, Secretary General of the Minister of Agriculture, representatives from IFAD, FAO Deputy Representative, memebers of Karkara NGO (The Nigerien Association for the Dynamisation of Local Initiatives), Paul Tholen, the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Nigeria, delegates of Dean of the Faculty of Agronomy at the Abdou Moumouni Dioffo University, as well as the representatives from RECA (Réseau national des Chambres d’Agriculture du Niger).
The team also met with the Prime Minister of Niger Mr. Ouhoumou Mahamadou to discuss the avenues of partnership and support from the government.
During these meetings, the team introduced FoSTr programme, potential engagement of all the different stakeholders for its implementation, and discussion on its work plan and the possible contribution in transforming the Niger’s food system.
