In Africa, the Greening of the Sahel
09 May 2011Crops grow better when planted near trees.
This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
Niger is located in the Sahel area south of the Sahara. The west African country is largely hot, dry desert. But since the nineteen eighties Niger has gotten a lot greener.
Around the world, trees are often cut down to clear land for bigger farms or more homes for growing populations. But in Niger many farmers plant trees to protect their crops. They might cut some down, but often to sell the wood so they can buy food during a drought.
Over the years, an agricultural adviser named Tony Rinaudo has helped people in the Sahel learn about the value and care of trees. Mr. Rinaudo says government officials and nongovernmental organizations were not the ones who spread the idea.
TONY RINAUDO: "Much of the response has actually come from the farmers and the communities themselves, as opposed to NGOs and the government. Once the farmers have embraced and accepted this technology, they have practiced and they have shared it with their neighbors. And it has spread from farmer to farmer. So that has been very exciting."
Trees can provide a wind barrier. They improve the soil when their leaves fall. And they protect against soil erosion by holding moisture in the ground.
Niger often has severe dry periods. Researchers say villages where farmers planted trees did better than others during a drought and food shortage in two thousand five.
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