Farmer-managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) in Sahel

[Farmer-managed natural regeneration

Farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR) is a low-cost, sustainable land- restoration technique used to combat poverty and hunger amongst poor subsistence farmers in developing countries by increasing food and timber production, and resilience to climate extremes. It involves the systematic regeneration and management of trees and shrubs from tree stumps, roots and seeds.[1]

Innovation of the Week: ‘Re-Greening’ the Sahel Through Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration

For centuries, farmers in the Sahel, a band of land that crosses Africa at the southern fringe of the Sahara Desert, used rotational tree farming to provide year-round harvests and a consistent source of food, fuel, and fertilizer. But severe droughts and rapid population growth in the 1970s and 80s significantly degraded the Sahel’s farmland, leading to the loss of many indigenous tree species and leaving the soil barren and eroded. With the loss of the trees went the knowledge, traditions, and practices that had kept the region fertile for hundreds of years.