Desertification Prevention by Agroforestry

Abstract

In the 1980s, there was a risk of desertification due to successive drought in Niger. In order to address the problem, Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR), which aimed to develop agroforestry (AF) by selecting healthy sprout regenerated from the residual woody perennial root left in the field, was introduced. AF is to use the field three-dimensionally, and produce a large amount of biomass. AF contributes to prevention of soil and wind erosion, as well as to various effects such as improvement of soil fertility and field micro-meteorology. Several cases of desertification prevention by AF are discussed, and the direction of AF method which is inexpensive and easy for farmers to accept is examined.