Official handover of the IPON digital tool to the Office du Niger under the WaPOR project

On 30 September 2025, in Ségou (Mali), the Office du Niger officially received the digital tool IPON (Irrigation Performante de l’Office du Niger), jointly developed by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the Office du Niger, with the technical and financial support of FAO and the backing of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, under the WaPOR project.

The handover ceremony took place at the Centre Kôrè in Ségou, in the presence of numerous technical and institutional partners. Based on satellite data from the WaPOR portal, the IPON tool enables near real-time monitoring of cultivated areas, measurement of water and irrigation productivity, diagnosis of water deficits, and estimation of crop yields.

In her speech, Ms. Virginie Gillet, WaPOR Project Manager at FAO, praised the exemplary collaboration between the institutions involved, emphasizing that “the IPON tool embodies the shared commitment to strengthening sustainable agricultural water management and supporting decision-making based on reliable and accessible data.”

Dr. Sander Zwart, from IWMI, recalled the co-design process of the tool, from the workshops held in Bamako in 2022 to the finalization of the definitive version in March 2025. A technical demonstration was provided by Mr. Fousseyni Béré, Head of the Water Management and Hydraulic Network Maintenance Service of Kouroumari.

The Director General of the Office du Niger, Mr. Badara Aliou Traoré, expressed his satisfaction and commitment to integrating IPON into the institution’s strategic tools. He encouraged his colleagues to fully adopt the platform to improve water management across irrigated schemes.

The ceremony concluded with the official handover of the tool and the presentation of training certificates to members of the technical committee, followed by a convivial cocktail reception.

Links:
📸 View the photo gallery
🎥 Watch the event video