Turning the Tide on Climate Change in Niger: Tech-Innov’s Revolutionary Approach to Sustainable Agriculture

2024 LOCAL ADAPTATION CHAMPIONS AWARD NOMINEE

In Niger, one of the world’s most arid and climate-vulnerable nations, the effects of climate change are stark and unforgiving. With 80% of the population relying on agriculture for their livelihoods, irregular rainfall, persistent drought, and the rapid degradation of arable land have left many farmers struggling to adapt. But change is taking root, thanks to an innovative solution born from local leadership and grounded in cutting-edge technology.

A Homegrown Solution to a Global Crisis

Abdou Maman Kané, a social entrepreneur from Niger and the visionary behind Tech-Innov, grew up witnessing the difficulties of farming in an arid region. “Water management was a constant challenge,” he recalls. “Our farmers needed a way to conserve water and improve productivity without exhausting the land.” Driven by his background in IT and agriculture, Abdou developed Tele-Irrigation 1.0, a revolutionary phone-controlled irrigation system that harnesses solar energy, Internet of Things sensors, and artificial intelligence to remotely manage water use. This homegrown innovation has transformed water conservation practices for farmers in Niger’s drylands.

Under Abdou’s leadership, Tech-Innov didn’t stop at irrigation. Recognizing the broader climate challenges facing farmers, the team expanded its solutions, culminating in the Wahaless Smart Farming initiative. The Wahaless Smart Farming system is a comprehensive, eco-friendly farming model that integrates innovative approaches to improve soil health, productivity, and carbon management. It promotes sustainable farming practices that enhance soil biodiversity and facilitate carbon sequestration, enables remote irrigation control while monitoring greenhouse gas emissions through IoT sensors, and organizes these technologies into a structured framework. This system provides farmers with verifiable, traceable methods to document their carbon footprint, helping them access the carbon credit market and advancing climate resilience and sustainable agriculture across Niger.

“Our mission is simple but ambitious: to empower farmers, especially women and young people, with the tools they need to fight climate change and thrive,” says Abdou.

Community-Driven Decision Making

Tech-Innov places locally-led community participation at the heart of its projects by engaging communities through a collaborative and inclusive decision-making process. Each project begins with a general assembly, where community members, including representatives from youth and women’s groups, collectively identify agricultural and environmental needs. This assembly nominates community leaders to a management committee, giving them 50% decision-making power in project oversight alongside representatives from Tech-Innov and the government. This structure empowers communities to manage project funds, prioritize investments, and sustain operations through contributions from each harvest, fostering long-term ownership and resilience.

Scaling Innovation to Empower Communities

The impact of Tech-Innov’s work has been profound. Since its inception, the initiative has touched the lives of over 910,000 households in Niger. Farmers using Tele-Irrigation have reported up to 60% water savings, an 80% reduction in labor and energy use, and a 150% increase in yields. In addition, the model has enhanced over 1.2 million square meters of land, creating modern agricultural enterprises that provide much-needed jobs for young people and women.

By encouraging the adoption of sustainable practices and empowering local communities to take charge of their environmental impact, Tech-Innov has played a pivotal role in restoring degraded lands, improving soil health, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In 2015, Tech-Innov’s efforts were recognized on the global stage, earning the prestigious King Hassan II World Water Prize.

A Model for the Future of Agriculture

With 28 digital farms already deployed and thousands of farmers trained, Abdou and his team are not only improving lives in Niger but are also shaping a model for sustainable agriculture in other climate-vulnerable regions. Wahaless Smart Farming’s success lies in its scalability and community-driven approach.