For decades, development initiatives aimed at strengthening the resilience of rural populations in Niger have focused on restoring degraded land. The aim of this study, carried out in the Ouallam department in western Niger, is to determine the impact of sylvopastoral site management in improving the living conditions of the beneficiary populations. The methodology involved interviews with a sample of 384 beneficiaries in the rural communes of Simiri and Tondikiwindi. The assessment of the socio-economic impacts of silvopastoral site development activities analyzed the elements of security of household living conditions, namely food, health, education, water, income and social cohesion within the population. The results show that food security and nutritional status have been improved by the food distribution operations. Access to water, technical capacity, income and social cohesion have also been improved. Rural exodus has also been reduced. The restoration of silvopastoral sites and capacity-building activities have helped to improve living conditions and community resilience.

Vigna subterranea (commonly known as bambara groundnut) is a neglected and underutilized crop, predominantly cultivated by women on small plots in West Africa. Despite its importance in rural areas, no improved varieties are available in the Sahel countries. Although used for both its edible grains and as forage by rural farmers, very few studies have focused on the forage potential of this species. This study aims to assess the genetic variability and heritability of biomass production traits in eight morphotypes of Vigna subterranea collected from southern Niger. The traits studied include plant height (PH), number of leaves (NL), number of branches (NB), and fresh biomass weight (FBW). The experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design with three replications. The Kruskal-Wallis test revealed a significant difference between the morphotypes only for fresh biomass weight (P = 0.002). However, substantial variability was observed for all traits studied. The phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) and genotypic coefficient of variation (CVG) were particularly high for FBW (PCV = 79.78%, CVG = 64.4%) and low for PH (PCV = 13.07%, CVG = 5.99%). Broad-sense heritability ranged from 21% for PH to 65% for FBW, while genetic gain ranged from 1.36 for PH to 52.12 for FBW. These results indicate significant potential for the genetic improvement of these traits, which could enhance biomass productivity and resilience of Vigna subterranea. The implications of these findings for breeding programs are discussed.