Our focus has always remained on using a comprehensive, market-based approach that tackles the root causes of poverty in all of its various forms. To more fully understand the impact of our work, last year we invited the Initiative for Global Development (IGD) to conduct an independent evaluation of our efforts since we were founded in 2010. It was gratifying to learn NDPI and PIND have moved the needle to a new level on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by building knowledge, changing attitudes and improving capacity. This annual report highlights the key findings of the IGD assessment.
There are many to thank for the gains we have achieved over the past five years: our exceptional staff, and board of directors in Nigeria and the United States; the stewardship of Dennis Flemming who served as NDPI executive director until the end of 2015; my predecessor as chairman of NDPI, Alireza Moshiri; the generous financial support of Chevron Corp.; our network of more than 500 organizations working in the Niger Delta; and all of our dedicated partners. We deeply appreciate the vital part each of you has played toward improving the security and livelihoods of residents across the Niger Delta.
Without a stable society, community-based economic growth cannot be sustained. NDPI and PIND offer an innovative solution to this problem by working at the intersection of conflict and impoverishment. We address the origins of the lack of opportunities in the Niger Delta—including militancy, malfunctioning markets and a weak civil society—and take a holistic approach to overcoming them. We identify innovations and empower people to adopt them. We perform all of these tasks with a focus on partnership, collaboration, feedback and continuous learning.
People have long debated what role business should play in poverty reduction and peace building. What excites me most about NDPI and PIND are the creative approaches we have adopted from the private sector in pursuing our nonprofit mission to understand the source of economic instability and forge lasting, market-driven results. It is an honor to do this work and join forces in this effort with all our partners in Nigeria and around the world.
Our implementing partner in Nigeria is the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND). It designs and manages the programs funded by the Niger Delta Partnership Initiative (NDPI) Foundation and other donor partners. Together, NDPI and PIND are developing new solutions to the economic and social challenges across the nine states of the Niger Delta.
• Nine states
• 70,000 sq. km.
• 7.5 percent of Nigeria’s land mass
• 30 million people
• 40 ethnic groups
• 250 different dialects
• 70 percent live on less than US$ 2.00/day
The Niger Delta region of Nigeria is one of the world’s largest sources of oil and plays a critical role in meeting global energy demands, providing the country with approximately 75 percent of its foreign exchange earnings. Yet, the majority of the population lives in poverty. Communities in the region face a wide range of environmental threats, including those posed by overfishing, pollution, invasive species and the construction of dams. In addition, the region is plagued by ongoing turmoil and conflict stemming from the inequitable distribution of wealth that the region produces.
By the end of 2015, a majority of NDPI and PIND pilot programs were deemed a success and plans were underway to roll them out on a much larger scale. Over the past five years in the Niger Delta we have catalyzed:
Our corporate social enterprise model facilitates economic opportunity rather than creating dependency on donor funding. NDPI and PIND don’t hand out benefits; we catalyze the people and resources that will sustain change beyond our interventions. We also address the complex barriers to efficient markets, such as conflict, a weak civil society, lack of government participation and transparency and poor infrastructure. We do this by focusing on three interrelated areas: economic development, peace building and creating an enabling environment for development.
Equally important to the three core areas we focus on is how we go about our work. Starting with the building of foundational networks, we research, test and build upon opportunities for positive change until we have empowered farmers, small businesses and partners to carry on without our involvement.
NDPI and PIND’s peace building network, Partners for Peace (P4P), facilitates conflict analysis and early intervention in the Niger Delta. Founded just two years ago, it is a self-governing network of more than 4,000 individuals working on initiatives in their local communities to abate conflict and promote dialogue. Our Integrated Peace and Development Unit (IPDU), meanwhile, is a center of innovation and research for peace-building practices.
Deborah Effiong, president of PIND’s P4P, Rivers State chapter, leads the group’s monthly meeting in Port Harcourt city, May 2015. PHOTO: ANDREW ESIEBO
A successful peace building campaign helps to create a stable environment where job creation, financial stability and economic development can occur. This is especially important in the Niger Delta where a major driver of hostilities is the lack of adequate job opportunities for youth. A good example of the intersection of peace and security is the introduction of a new palm fruit harvesting device by the P4P network.
In 2014, P4P held town hall meetings in Abia and Imo states to gauge interest in a mechanized adjustable harvester for reaping the fruit of palm trees. Together, the two states comprise over 25 percent of Nigeria’s palm fruit acreage. To harvest the fruit, individuals have traditionally climbed palm trees—which can grow up to 66 feet tall—in their bare feet with a rope tied around their waist and the tree, and a machete in their mouth. It is dangerous task.
Several P4P members have since purchased the machines and rent them to harvesters in their communities. Such innovative thinking has created community ownership of the project and even led to new local initiatives. For example, the Imo state P4P Palm Oil Cooperative recently pooled together community funds to purchase palm seeds to establish a palm tree nursery. Peace building efforts have benefited. As news of the Abia and Imo mechanized harvester project spread, P4P membership in both states surged.
Our economic development program includes projects focused on palm oil, cassava and aquaculture. In each case, we have brought small businesses and entrepreneurs the appropriate expertise to build capacity, improve efficiencies and, ultimately, increase profits.
Niger Delta farmers face serious risks when climbing high trees to harvest palm fruit. After viewing a PIND demonstration of a mechanical adjustable harvester, agricultural equipment dealer Ikechukwu Umeaku became a fervent promoter of the machine. Through PIND, he was connected to a network of palm oil farmers and became a distributer for the manufacturer TEXMACO. He travels to palm fields to show potential customers how to use the harvester, especially those who remain skeptical of the technology.
Umeaku sold dozens of the harvesters in the Niger Delta in 2015 and he plans to rapidly increase that number in 2016. “I believe in a year we will be selling 100 or more,” Umeaku said. “We cannot depend on just crude oil forever. Agriculture is good for the economy and for everyone.”
Our partnership with Nigeria’s National Institute for Oil Palm Research has produced two new technologies for improving palm fruit harvesting and milling. Both continued to rapidly gain in popularity in 2015:
Mechanical adjustable harvesters made reaping palm fruit safer and faster. It nearly doubled the amount a picker could harvest daily as compared to the traditional method of a man climbing a palm tree in bare feet and using a hand-held machete to cut down the crop. Furthermore, business connections established by PIND between manufacturers of the mechanical harvesters and farmers made the machines available to 592 farmers in the Niger Delta by the end of 2015.
Small-scale processing equipment enabled palm fruit millers to increase their profits by 40 percent per ton and reduce the milling process from 24 hours to seven minutes. Sixteen palm fruit mills in the Niger Delta are now using small-scale processing equipment, and new jobs have been created for local fabricators of the equipment.
Catfish farmers were helped to increase profits by 17 percent.
766 catfish farmers were trained in new practices that reduce costs while increasing efficiency, quality and yields.
3,000 catfish farmers adopted our recommended best practices.
Qualitative research revealed catfish farmers trained by PIND have a deep sense of pride and feel empowered by their new knowledge and success.
Vital business links between fish farm suppliers and catfish farmers have been established and are having a growing impact; for example, fish feed supplier Grand Cereals launched an aquaculture academy that trained 650 farmers.
141 catfish farmers benefited from a Nigerian Naira (NGN) 56.2 million microfinance program (US$28.2 million), while achieving a 100 percent loan repayment rate.
Cassava, a starchy tuberous root crop, is a major food staple in Africa. Nigeria is the largest cassava producer in the world. About one-third of the total national output of cassava comes from the Niger Delta where many people depend on it as a main source of livelihood and sustenance. Farming and processing the crop generates income for more than 80 percent of the rural poor. In Nigeria, 70 percent of cassava farmers are women.
NDPI and PIND have analyzed the factors constraining growth of Niger Delta’s cassava sector and launched an initiative to boost yields by improving farming and processing practices. By the end of 2015, we had established partnerships with 237 cassava associations in the Niger Delta with a total membership of 5,519 farmers.
Smart development decisions require good data and effective programs require partner engagement. NDPI and PIND’s analysis and advocacy programs share research and lessons learned to improve program decision-making, evaluation and outcomes. Our Niger Delta development-focused online community, NDLink, tracks donor-sponsored projects and encourages partnerships.
Achieved 1 million page views by June
Partnered with the Nigerian technology, innovation and entrepreneurship program Focus Hub to train 200 girls in business skills
Partnered with Akvo Foundation in the Netherlands to train dozens of Niger Delta NGOs in how to use the online communication, reporting and monitoring tool “Akvorsr” to document and report on their projects
Worked with the Stakeholder Democracy Network in Port Harcourt, Nigeria to organize a debate between candidates in the Rivers State gubernatorial election
Supported the U.S. Agency for International Development’s “Straightening Advocacy and Civil Engagement” program to organize the first-ever Niger Delta Engagement Forum.
over 1,000 members
over 400 content posted (jobs, forum discussions, resources, news articles, and blog posts)
48,758 views on facebook posts
655 twitter followers
868 facebook fans
over 6 million twitter impressions made
Innovative investment models and partnerships to support improvements in Nigeria’s power and transport sectors
Industrial diversification
How to strengthen Nigeria’s agriculture market
How to improve the job skills of women and youth
Governance and accountability
“NDDF is not a talk shop. There are enough of those in Nigeria and internationally about the Niger Delta. We identify realistic ideas and plans that we can implement together. Initiatives that will create a more dynamic and enabling environment for investments that generate job growth and stability for the region.”
NDPI and AccordDev are working to improve the capacity of five LGAs in the Niger Delta states of Imo and Rivers to deliver sustainable development projects aimed at boosting income generation and economic growth for the poor.
AccordDev also worked with NDPI on the analysis of economic value chains to determine potential pilot projects under NDPI’s economic development program.
CEDSI partners with NDPI through the provision of creative insights into NDPI’s projects and activities, drawing from the wealth of their development experience.
Chemonics partners with NDPI to implement the Maximizing Agricultural Revenue in Key Enterprises and Targeted Sites (MARKETS II) project to improve agricultural practices and the Strengthening Advocacy and Civic Engagement (SACE) program to increase the ability of civil society organizations to work together for improved governance and institutional reform. Both programs are jointly funded by NDPI and USAID.
DAI is providing strategic guidance to NDPI in establishing and implementing the economic development program, helping with its design, development, implementation and evaluation strategies.
In 2011, Forward Africa worked with NDPI on the analysis of economic value chains to determine potential pilot projects under NDPI’s economic development program.
Forward Africa also received a sub-grant through the ADVANCE project to facilitate community involvement in governance for economic growth in six LGAs of Abia and Imo States.
FFP provides strategic guidance to NDPI’s peace building program by supporting project design, development, and evaluation strategies.
The Global Social Enterprise Initiative (GSEI) at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business is collaborating with NDPI to support the reduction of conflict and promote equitable economic growth in the Niger Delta.
LITE – Africa is partnering with NDPI and Chemonics in the implementation of field projects under the SACE program, focused on improving governance and institutional reform.
The Ministry worked with NDPI in 2011 to analyze economic data on the Niger Delta to identify and prioritize growth opportunities for the poor.
NDPI worked with the Morgan Smart Development Foundation to coordinate a small livelihood enhancement grant program for 73 Niger Delta women who support their families through various livelihood activities.
NNF worked with NDPI in 2011 to collect and analyze economic data on the Niger Delta to identify and prioritize growth opportunities for the poor. They participated in the analysis of economic value chains to determine potential pilot projects under NDPI’s economic development program.
NDPI partners with NIFOR to implement agricultural activities in the palm oil sector that enable individuals to access improved technology that can increase harvest yields and processing efficiency.
RTI partners with NDPI in implementing the Leadership, Empowerment, and Development (LEAD) program to boost local government delivery of public services by strengthening government capacity and fiscal management.
NDPI partners with the RSSDA to jointly plan, implement, and coordinate economic development programs in Rivers State.
SHERDA initially worked with NDPI on the analysis of economic value chains. After the initial analysis phase, they have been focused on the implementation of pilot interventions to remove systemic constraints to growth in the palm oil value chain.
Through the IDPA, NDPI and USAID seek to increase agriculture-related incomes, improve the capacity of government and civil society institutions, and reduce conflicts among vulnerable communities in the Niger Delta to improve economic opportunities.
NDPI is partnering with the UNDP through a cost-sharing agreement on the design of a Social Sector Investment Framework to fund community development projects in collaboration with the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and other development partners.
West Africa Development partners with NDPI to implement the Capacity Building for Local Empowerment (CAPABLE) program to enhance the institutional and technical capacity of local development organizations in the Niger Delta.
