Something new is taking root in a small and dusty corner of western Niger. The unremarkable looking moringa tree has become a frontline weapon to fight the recurring droughts that have hit the West African nation.

Just two years after the country’s last food crisis, crops have again failed and 5.4 million people are struggling to find enough food to eat to survive. Across the region, some 18 million face the same fate.

Mothers like Fatimata Birmay (pictured) in Tillaberi province have been forced to take their children for emergency feeding as her crops failed. “When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I think about is where I’m going to get food for that day,” she says. Her two-year-old child has been malnourished for two months.

The moringa tree could be a solution for people like Ms Birmay as it grows easily in Niger’s harsh environment. Its edible leaves are highly nutritious and rich in vitamins A and B. Despite the weather, it can produce a crop throughout the year.

The tree was traditionally used as both a food source and for its medicinal properties but over the years that knowledge was lost. Now a group of 52 women have decided to cultivate the tree to combat their constant battle to produce enough food to feed their families. For the last seven years the women have been part of a gardening club in Tera in Tillaberi province, an increasingly dry area of Niger.

“My mother noticed that the harvests were getting worse so she suggested starting a gardening group,” says Ramata Hama (pictured). “People were suffering because of the lack of food. Women were being forced to find work in [the capital] Niamey. They have to take their children with them, meaning they don’t go to school.”

In more recent times, the moringa tree has been mainly used to make fence posts, explains Chaibou Kimba - the agriculture technician behind the tree’s comeback as a food crop. In fact, its Hausa name, zogala gandi, translates as "fence tree". Mr Kimba says: “It was difficult at first to get people to understand that the leaves are edible, but with support from World Vision we have trained 200 women.”

The gardening club was keen to try the moringa tree as, with careful watering, the leaves can be harvested in just two months. “At first I was unsure about eating them but I was willing to give it a go. Now we can have some food all year around,” says Ms Hama, who is married with three children.

Other produce the women grow is more seasonal. “I have made 10,000 CFA ($19, £12) selling my vegetables this year - and I have some sacks of dried cabbage and my moringa trees to see me through,” she says. “The garden has made a huge difference to my life.”