News & Blogs
All-Africa goal proposed for scaling-up farmer-managed natural regeneration of trees on farmland
Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) is the fastest-growing form of EverGreen Agriculture in Africa. It is especially popular in the drylands where droughts are frequent and intense. Because it requires minimal or no cash investment, it can expand rapidly through farmer-to-farmer and village-to-village diffusion. A dramatic case in point is Niger, where more than 5 million […] Continue Reading
Iowa’s climate-change wisdom
Negotiators en route to the United Nations conference on climate change in Paris, scheduled to begin later this month, should take a detour on rural roads here in Johnson County. A new climate narrative is emerging among farmers in the American heartland that transcends a lot of the old story lines of denial and cynicism, […] Continue Reading
Creating an Evergreen food-energy system for rural electrification
‘All of the planet’s energy originally derives from solar radiation. Trees are one of the most effective ways of harnessing the sun and turning it into usable energy, and trees can do this in a truly renewable way.’ Philip Dobie and Navin Sharma. World Agroforestry Centre Electrical Power with Food Security Benefits Six hundred million […] Continue Reading
More rain = less trees
Research from Princeton University published recently has found a relationship between higher rainfall and lower numbers of trees in savannah ecosystems in Southern Africa. The researchers have used mathematical models, in conjunction with ground truthing to validate an explanation for this. Their argument is, that grasses are more effective and efficient at making use of […] Continue Reading
Barking up the right tree
The Africa Rising Project of the World Agroforestry Centre has successfully changed the beliefs and misconceptions of farmers in Tanzania’s Kongwa and Kiteto Districts. The belief that trees could suck away nutrients from food crops has now been erased with farmers now enjoying the benefits of intercropping multipurpose trees with their crops. Additionally, the project […] Continue Reading
Trees grow ‘like children’
Manuel, a proponent of FMNR in Timor-Leste likens trees to children who must be considered and treated well. Not holding back his joy, Manuel shares his great experience as an implementer of the practice having received training through the Building Resilience to a Change and Environment (BRACCE) Project. Click here to read more Continue Reading