This blog is part of the Agriculture and Ecosystems Blog’s month-long series on Restoring Landscapes.
In the 1980’s, Tony Rinaudo, now Natural Resource Advisor for World Vision Australia, was part of a team that relentlessly planted thousands of trees across the Sahel, but most of them died after just a few months. Just when he thought he might give up, he realized the solution was lying just beneath his feet.
Across Africa, thousands of hectares of land have been cleared for agriculture. Unsupported by larger ecosystems, the land has degraded over time, and the crops have dwindled and have become more susceptible to drought.
But Tony realized there was still potential for restoration, and it wasn’t going to come from saplings. Instead, it just required a new way of understanding the land. The small shrubs that still dotted the degraded agricultural landscapes around him were not shrubs at all, but in fact the sprouting root systems of felled trees. Through proper pruning and protection, these trees could grow back, and in turn support entire ecosystem and increase food production.
This pruning technique is now known as “Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration,” (FMNR) and it has made a tremendous impact across swaths of West and East Africa. It is low cost, just requires some training, and it puts the power directly in the hands of farmers, who have also spread the word about its success. It also increases resilience to climate change in the region.
Read the full post by Emily Davila on the Agriculture and Ecosystems blog.
Photo: World Vision Australia
