Hand-drilled wells fitted with inexpensive water-lifting devices are a feasible water source for both domestic and agricultural water supply in parts of Niger. Despite their poverty, thousands of households have been willing and able to pay for these wells and for simple lifting devices for their fields and homes.

Thanks to more than 30 years of work by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), hand-auger drilling is now firmly controlled by local entrepreneurs in several parts of Niger. At the same time, locally made pumps have allowed farmers to use more water in their fields, and villagers to draw water from closer to their homes. A researcher from the Rural Water Supply Network consulted more than 60 stakeholders, to understand why and how these technologies became such a success. These stakeholders included farmers, market gardeners manufacturers, drilling contractors, and government, NGO and donor representatives, mainly in southern Niger.

Hand-dug wells have been used for generations in Niger. Development projects introduced ‘modern’ lined wells to improve safety and water quality, but more than half of the rural population still relies on traditional water sources. Although Niger depends on rain-fed agriculture, there is a little small-scale irrigation in the south, and some market gardeners use improved water-lifting devices.

Hand-drilled wells were being promoted in Niger in the 1960s, but became well-established in the 1990s, because of three key projects. These projects trained people not only in drilling and water-lifting technologies, but also in business skills, so that they continued to operate independently after the project ended. According to the stakeholders consulted, the main lessons learned are:

• Countries need to invest in the early stages, develop and test the technologies in different locations, build the skills of independent drillers and pump manufacturers, and support market development.
• In Niger, the private sector – local businesses that developed and introduced water-supply technologies – was the mechanism for economic growth.
• The essential components were committed businesses, sufficient incentives, and adequate external support for the development, improvement, and demonstration of the market potential of the technologies.

Niger’s experience shows that once sufficiently proven, the skills of drillers and pump manufacturers should be built up to encourage market development. There will still be issues over price, and projects can still provide a large (sometimes disproportionate) share of the market. However, farmers value a quality product and will find a way to acquire it. In future, it is recommended that:

• To develop markets, a choice of hand-dug and hand-drilled wells, and a range of lifting devices, should be offered. There is considerable potential for hand-drilling technologies that can penetrate harder rock formations and drill to greater depths.
• Donors and government organisations should invest in developing technologies that can be manufactured and marketed locally. Stakeholders’ needs must be understood and local capacity built gradually. Credit and subsidies need careful consideration, to avoid creating artificial ‘project-driven’ markets.
• Water quality and water resource concerns need to be carefully researched. Shallow groundwater can be contaminated from excreta disposal, fertilisers and pesticides, while motorised pumps can deplete shallow groundwater resources.

Source(s):
‘A brief history of hand-drilled wells in Niger: only the beginning’, Rural Water Supplies Series Field Note, WSP and RWSN: Nairobi and St Gallen, Switzerland, by Kerstin Danert, October 2006 (PDF) Full document.

Funded by: WSP-AF

id21 Research Highlight: 8 June 2007

Further Information:
Kerstin Danert
RWSN Secretariat
SKAT Foundation, Vadianstrasse 42
CH-9000 St. Gallen
Switzerland

Tel: +41 71 2885454
Fax: +41 71 2885455
Contact the contributor: rwsn@skat.ch

Rural Water Supply Network Secretariat, Switzerland

Water and Sanitation Program – Africa
World Bank, Hill Park Building
Upper Hill Road
PO Box 30577
Nairobi, Kenya

Tel: +254 20 3226306
Fax: +254 20 3226386
Contact the contributor: wspaf@worldbank.org

Water and Sanitation Program - Africa

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'Assisting self-help water supplies in Uganda'

'New directions for water governance' id21 insights, Issue #67, June 2007

'Lack of spare parts for handpumps reduces access to water in Africa'

'Rural water supply in Zambia: local solutions are best'

'People not projects – the low-technology approach to improving rural water supply'