AbstractNigerien subsistence farmers increasingly rely on marginal lands for food production as a result of ongoing soil degradation, limited fertile land availability and growing population pressure. These degraded lands, however, generally provide poor yields, which is largely assigned to an increased vulnerability to drought, as a major part of the rainfall is lost through inefficient rain water distribution. More efficient use of rainwater can be achieved with the aid of water and soil conservation (WSC) techniques, which positively alter the soil water balance in favour of productive water. In Niger, zaï and demi‐lunes WSC techniques improve yields, but their adoption has not been widespread, and the dissemination generally encounters difficulties. To identify and quantify the importance and presence of several adoption constraints in the Tillabéri region, we conducted 100 households surveys exploring farmers' erosion perception, WSC technique knowledge and resource availability. Although important adoption triggers such as food insecurity and limited fertile land availability are present, the region's WSC adoption rate is low. The application is limited by manure shortage and a lack of specific erosion knowledge, indicating the need of an efficient and specialized policy focusing on more than yield increase alone. Most farmers have little awareness of erosion causes and effects and therefore do not relate WSC techniques to the indirect benefits, which are to be taken into account to secure sustainable solutions to drought and food insecurity. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.