Land restoration in northern Niger in West Africa is making degraded areas productive again, providing economic opportunities in a region where migration has become a tradition.
Now, under Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations’ (FAO) Action Against Desertification programme, these efforts are being expanded to six African countries.
According to the FAO, this development shows that land degradation around the Sahara is not yet irreversible.
Desertification and land degradation are very serious challenges. They lead to hunger and poverty.Over the next decade, 50 million people may be displaced – the result of climate change and the depletion of natural resources.But recent successes show that land degradation is not yet irreversible.The Great Green Wall initiative can be a game-changer for Africa – boosting food security, creating jobs and helping people adapt to climate change.The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation has joined the initiative and is engaged in land restoration across the Sahel.People are at the heart of FAO’s Action Against Desertification programme.Restoration efforts focus on supporting livelihoods, which mainly depend on farming and livestock.Plants are essential for rural communities – trees, shrubs and grasses provide everything, from food to fodder and from medicine to construction material.Plants also bring economic opportunities. Fodder grass sells wells on the market, for example.
