Most warehouses kept by the government and commercial actors are made in concrete. WFP and other humanitarian agencies will also hold a significant number of mobile warehouses, or rub-halls, as this allows for a higher degree of flexibility.

Overall it is relatively easy to find storage space in the larger cities. During the wet season demand is at its highest as merchants will seek to better protect their stock. Not all warehouses will comply with WFP standards though. The main issues tend to be accessibility and overall structure integrity. Currently there is a lack of storage space in the Diffa region where security issues imposes restraints, at the same time as humanitarian needs have increased massively since the displacements provoked by Boko Haram.

For more information on storage company contact details, please see the following link: 

4.6 Storage and Milling Companies Contact List

Commercial Storage

There are several commercial warehouses available. The majority of which are located in Niamey and Maradi which are the economic centres and hubs for transit. However, many private warehouses are not able to meet WFP’s standards for storage of food and may only be relied upon in times of crisis.

[1] Warehouse Type: Open storage, container, rub-hall, silo, concrete, other, unspecified

[2] Warehouse Access: Raised-siding, flat

[3] Warehouse condition: Appears intact, appears damaged, under construction/repair

Storage Used by Humanitarian Organizations

The government warehouse network for school feeding has been put to disposition of WFP which has further increased capacity on the land by constructing additional warehouses and erecting Mobile Storage Units (MSUs). Including rented warehouses and public warehouses WFP currently has a capacity of 43 350 MT.

The Red Cross International prefers to run their own facilities. They have built a main depot in Niamey and are investigating the possibility to build another as demand is high in connection with the Mali crisis. Further they maintain sub-depots in Maradi and Zinder. The Red Cross stores food and non-food items, the latter consisting of mosquito nets, blankets, can and similar goods destined for humanitarian intervention. MSF maintains a network of warehouses with cooling capacities that are further described in the cold chain section below. MSF stores medicine, vaccines and medical equipment.

With regard to sharing possibilities it is uncommon except in emergencies when this is coordinated by the Logistical Cluster. With the increased focus towards Partnerships this likely to open up more. WFP is currently establishing new routines and procedures for service provision to this effect.

[1] Warehouse Type: Open storage, container, rub-hall, silo, concrete, other, unspecified

[2] Warehouse Access: Raised-siding, flat

[3] Warehouse condition: Appears intact, appears damaged, under construction/repair

Public Sector Storage

OPVN is the governmental entity who runs most of the governmental warehouses. They maintain the national security stock of food and will intervene with sales of food at reduced prices or straight out donations. The strategy set is to be able to cover the alimentary needs for 20 per cent of the population for three months in the event of a food crisis. OPVN are present with warehouses in all major population centers in Niger and there warehouses are normally conform to WFP’s standards. OPVN has a total capacity of about 90 000 MT, about 65 000 MT of which is designated for the national security stock. The remaining space (25 000 MT) is made available for food storage for UN agencies and NGO. WFP has priority for free space in times of crisis.

DREBA (Direction Regional des Enseignements de Base et de l’ Alphabétisation) is a governmental entity in charge of primary education and IEB (Inspection de l'Enseignement de Base) is its prolonged arm. They have set up a number of warehouses that were originally used to support a school feeding program. As time progressed many of these warehouses have been opened for partners such as WFP.

[1] Warehouse Type: Open storage, container, rub-hall, silo, concrete, other, unspecified

[2] Warehouse Access: Raised-siding, flat

[3] Warehouse condition: Appears intact, appears damaged, under construction/repair

Cold Chain

The ONPPC (Office National des Produits Pharmaceutiques et Chimiques du Niger) oversees pharmaceutical and chemicals in Niger. They have regional warehouses in Niamey, Tahoua and Zinder with cooling facilities for storing vaccines and medicine.

Integrated health centers maintains a cold chain for medicine throughout the country. Generally most integrated health centres (CSI – Centres de Santés Intégrés) will have a working refrigerator at its disposal – which is the how the Niger healt authorities defines cold chain coverage. This cover rate 96.25% for the country with the distant regions of Agadez and Diffa seeing 84% and 90%, and for some peculiar reason Niamey city at just 81%. The smaller health centres (CS - Cas de Santé) which provide more basic care and are located in more remote places the coverage is just at 15% nationwide and practically non-existent in the regions of Agadez, Diffa, Dosso and Tillabéry.[1]    

Médecins Sans Frontières maintain a large cold chain capacity, particularly in Maradi. In Niamey LABOREX has the capacity to store up to 200 000 liters.         

[1] Cold Room Positive, Cold Room Negative, Refrigerator, Freezer,

[2] Compression, Absorption, Solar, Other, unspecified