Presentation by Mahamane Adamou, Agronomist at PPILDA, at the 2012 Agriculture and Rural Development Day (ARDD) in Rio de Janiero, Learning Event No. 9, Session 1: Closing loops and opening minds, nutrients recycling in Aguié, Niger. http://www.agricultureday.org

1. RIO+20
Productive
Sanitation –
From pilot to scale
in Aguié, Niger
Mahamane Adamou
Agricultural Engineer
PPILDA, Niger
URINE CONTROL

2. Presentation outline
I. Short presentation of PPILDA
II. Introduction to the Productive Sanitation
approach (ProSan) and pilot project at
PPILDA
III. Results obtained
IV. Lessons and perspectives

3. I. Short presentation of PPILDA
PPILDA = Projet de Promotion de l’Initiative
Locale pour le Développement à Aguié
(Project for the Promotion of Local
Development Initiatives in Aguié)
• 8 year project : 2005-2012
• Project is under the Ministry of Agriculture in Niger
• Funding: 17.5 million $ (IFAD, Belgian Survival
Fund and Niger Government)

4. I. Short presentation of PPILDA
The over all goal of PPILDA
To improve conditions and
livelihoods of the poor with
focus on the most vulnerable
groups, in particular women
and youth
Through 30 000 families
PPILDA aims to reach 180 000
people in 6 municipalities in
the Aguié province
(Aguié, Gazaoua, Gangara, Tchadoua,
Jirataoua et Sae Saboua)

5. I. Short presentation of PPILDA
PPILDA works with 5 major
components :
1. Identify and test local
innovations
2. Reinforce local instutitions
and organizations
3. Make funds available to
support local initiatives and
innovations
4. Reinforce local services
5. Project management

6. II. Introducing farmers to Productive
Sanitation – the ProSan-Aguié project
Pilot project within PPILDA : ProSan-Aguié (October 2008-
February 2010)
Main objective: Testing productive sanitation in Niger to
improve the productivity of small holder farmers
Specific objectives:
• Productive sanitation is accepted and show significant
increase in agricultural production at the pilot sites (compared
with control plots)
• Other actors in the sanitation or agriculture sector are willing
take up the productive sanitation concept in strategies and
projects.

7. The agriculture
challenge in Niger
>80% of the population in
Niger involved in farming
Average farm size <1.5ha
- Variable rain-fall
- Large nutrient deficits
0,9 kg chemical NPK/ha/year
Losses: 56 kg NPK/ha/year

8. The sanitation challenge in Niger
26 400 children dies every
year due to diarrhoea
91% practice open
defecation in rural Niger
(JMP, 2010)

9. Human excreta – a blind spot in nutrient
management
N = 2,8 kg N = 2,8 kg
P = 0,4 kg P = 0,4 kg
K ~ 1,3 kg K ~ 1,3 kg
Per person/year Per person/year

10. Urine and
faeces from
the 9 persons
in Niger
contain the
equivalent of
50 kg of urea
and 50 kg of
NPK(15:15:15)
worth 80$
(mainly in
urine)

11. Productive Sanitation –
from linear to circular flows
• Eutrophication
• Spreading of disease
• Loss of nutrients
- Open defecation!
- Drop and store!
- Flush and forget!
-Sanitization and reuse
• Confinement/collection
• Treatment → Productive (ecological) sanitation
• Reuse

12. ProSan-Aguié pilot project activities
1. Development: Involve > 300 households in seven
villages
2. Research : Studies on agronomic, sanitary,
economic, social and technical aspects
3. Outreach: Local, national and international

13. Intervention zone and baseline
80% are involved
in agriculture
1.5 ha/household
Landless farmers
Very few latrines

14. Containment and treatment –
simple urinals
6/18/2012

15. Containment and treatment
Composting
toilets
Dry toilets

16. Participative testing of liquid fertilizer (urine)
6/18/2012 16

17. ProSan-Aguié pilot project results
• Acceptance of the approach in the pilot villages;
• Increased harvest with liquid fertilizer (urine) from urine
harvesting (1100 households);
• ~150 composting pit latrines and awareness raising
activities resulting in improved sanitation and hygiene
• Project widely adopted in Niger
PPILDA continued…
2010: Consolidate the approach
2011/12: Scale up the approach

18. III. Results from start of upscaling
Agricultural production
• Yield increase : The average yield in the farmer field
schools using urine is 600 kg/ha compared to 425 kg/ha as
the average in the rest of the province (in 2011) and on
irrigated crops, 7 to 25% increase according to crops
• 90 % acceptance and use of liquid
fertilizer (urine) in the villages:
• Low cost fertilizer accessible also to
women
• Renewed interest for composting by
adding liquid fertilizer to the composting
pile in the dry season

19. Results from start of upscaling
Sanitation infrastructure
• In total 330 latrines;
• More than 2000 simple urinals;
• 20 villages involved surrounding the first 5 pilot villages
Productive sanitation and sanitary conditions
• Increase in use of latrines (only 5% had access to latrines
before)
• Improvement in hygiene (reduced open defecation) and
helth of the population

20. Results from start of upscaling
Gender considerations
•Different groups are involved (women, youth and vulnerable)
in farmer field schools and sensitization sessions which
helped the widespread acceptance of the approach
•Since 2010 there are also female facilitators which has
helped to spread the approach among the women
•Women in particular appreciate the composting latrines,
since it reduce their vulnerability when defecating in the
open and also easier for them to deal with menstruation

21. Results from start of upscaling
Success:
• Capacity building
• Availability of local fertilizer (natural resource management)
• Improvement of hygiene and health
• Improved safety (not exposed to open defecation)
Challenges:
• Communities in the beginning
– seeing is believing
• Burnt plants if vegetable
growers don’t have enough
water during the dry season

22. IV. Lessons learnt
• The collection, treatment and reuse of urine as a liquid
fertilizer has been possible in spite of religious and
social taboos thanks to :
– The participative approach and using farmer field
schools with convincing results;
– Mobilization of all stakeholders in the process
(religious and traditional leaders, authorities, STD,
population)

23. IV. Perspectives
Perspectives 2012:
• Up scaling of the Pro San approach to more villages with
support from the previous local champions as well as an
extension of pilot farmers, working with 500 vulnerable
households on 250 ha.
• Testing the « Solid Fertiliser » ( sanitized latrine
compost) on cereals crops in 18 farmer field schools;
• Continue the co-composting, using liquid fertilizer as a
source of nutrients and humidity .
• Continue to construct latrines and urinals to harvest
urine

24. IV. Perspectives
Perspectives 2012-2018
• PPILDA will now go into the next phase and work with rural
development in 18 municipalities aiming to reach 65000
households (31 million $)
• Productive sanitation will be one of the approaches
promoted – helping to improve both health and production!

25. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!