FOOD SECURITY AND WATER IN AFRICA’S DRYLANDS

A dense stand of Piliostigma reticulatum on fields in the Konni department of Niger (January 2012).Their pods are good fodder for livestock and also serve as famine food. They are perceived to improve soil fertility. In the background a number of trees, which have been pruned and developed a trunk and a canopy. In the foreground very young and dense Piliostigma bushes that capture a lot of fine and fertile dust moved by the harmattan winds.

The international media are drawing our attention to the food crisis, which is emerging in the Sahel. They express the fear that the Sahel is facing a crisis similar to the one recently experienced in the Horn of Africa. The 2011 rainy season in the Sahel was characterized by low and irregular rainfall and in some regions also by crop pests. In November 2011 it was estimated that Niger alone would have a food deficit of almost 600,000 ton. The indication is that not all areas in Niger are equally affected by shortages in cereal production. A map produced by the Famine Early Warning Systems (FEWS) in September 2011 indicated that the predicted shortages seemed to be less severe in some areas of Southern Niger with high density on-farm trees.

Using some funds from the International Fund for Agricultural Development available for developing a national policy dialogue around re-greening, two researchers from the University of Niamey (Prof. Yamba Boubacar and Mr. Sambo) undertook a quick study in five villages in the Kantché department (Southern Zinder) to look at re-greening and food security. On February 24 they forwarded a first draft report. They did a survey among 197 farm households, but they also looked at some national statistics. Let’s start with the latter. The data of the National Committee for the Prevention and Management of Food Crises and the Famine Early Warning Systems in Niger indicate that the Kantché Department (350,000 inhabitants) systematically produced a cereal surplus since 2007 and also in 2011.

2007 + 21,230 ton
2008 + 36,838 ton
2009 + 28,122 ton
2010 + 64,208 ton
2011 + 13,818 ton

Is it a coincidence that this area with high population densities and high on-farm tree densities produces cereal surpluses? Can it be due to other interventions? Can it be that this area received a bit more rainfall and/or had a slightly better distribution of rainfall? What we can say at this stage is that the surplus is not due to other interventions. It also true that most of this area has high density young agroforestry parkland strongly dominated by Faidherbia albida, a nitrogen fixing species, which helps maintain and improve soil fertility. Although the Kantché department as a whole produced a cereal surplus in 2011, the poorest farmers will still be facing food shortages.

The information in the draft report also shows that the poorest households often derive significant income from their on-farm trees in the form of fodder, firewood, fruit and leaves part of which is sold on the market. Trees are an important source of farm income. Yamba and Sambo mention, for instance, that the sale of leaves from a single mature baobab tree (Adansonia digitata) generates an income of 27 US $ to 75 US $ depending on when the leaves get on the market. This income alone allows the owner of the baobab(s) (often women) to buy 75 to 175 kg of cereals on the market. In parts of the Mirriah department (Zinder Region), baobab is the dominating species and one finds many mature, but also young baobabs.

Why do farmers invest in trees?
Yamba and Sambo asked farmers why they protected and managed on-farm trees. They could provide more than one answer, but the dominating answer was (58%) for soil fertility and for food (25%). Farmers (men and women) across the Sahel are very worried about declining soil fertility and are ready to do everything to reverse a decline in soil fertility and certain tree species are perceived to improve soil fertility (Faidherbia albida, Piliostigma reticulatum, Combretum glutinosum, Guiéra senegalensis).

Some conclusions about agroforestry
1. On-farm trees increase and stabilize access of farm households to food. They reduce the risk of crop failure and even if crops fail, the trees provide other forms of income that allow farmers to buy expensive cereals on the market.
2. Average cereal yields under agroforestry in Niger remain low (usually about 450 kg/ha or more depending on soils, soil fertility management and groundwater level) and the use of modest doses of inorganic fertilizers is required to significantly increase yields.
3. Tree litter helps maintain or improve soil fertility by increasing the organic matter content of the soil, which improves the efficiency of fertilizer use and the water holding capacity of the topsoil. Trees first and micro doses of fertilizers next.
4. A recent study has shown that in certain situations trees can also decrease cereal yields, but the study did not indicate under which conditions. None of the farmers in the new agroforestry parklands in Niger, Mali and Burkina has ever mentioned this. Even if this would be the case, the multiple benefits of the tree capital outweighs a loss in cereals. If this were not the case, the farmers would cut the on-farm trees.

This picture of an old agroforestry parkland dominated by shea trees (Vitellaria paradoxa) and néré (Parkia biglobosa) in Mali shows that the vegetation on the communal fields has been destroyed for the production of charcoal for the capital Bamako. However, no one touches a single tree in the parkland. Tree densities are high and the canopy cover is significant. This may lead to lower cereal yields, which is very likely more than compensated for by the value of the products produced by these trees.

5. Although not everybody will readily believe it, when young trees are pruned, they develop a trunk and a canopy, and the prunings produce twigs that women can burn in their kitchen and the leaves add to the organic matter content of the soil. Trees produce benefits quickly and depending on species, rainfall and altitude can grow rapidly.

 

Water harvesting, groundwater recharge, small-scale irrigation and trees
The rural population in most drylands is rapidly increasing in absolute numbers, which makes it essential not only to increase food production and improve access to food, but also to increase the availability of water for the growing human population, but also for their livestock and for small-scale irrigation. This requires that available rainfall and runoff is captured and stored as much as possible in the soil.

We have a lot of anecdotal evidence of local increases in groundwater after the introduction of simple water harvesting techniques, like planting pits, half moons, contour stone bunds and low water spreading dams. They all force rainfall and runoff to slow down and infiltrate into the soil. ARI update 2012 no.2 tells the story about the village of Batodi in Niger’s Illéla department, which experienced a significant increase in water levels in their wells since they introduced planting pits and half moons in the early 1990s. The cereal crops in this village largely failed in 2011, but there are now 10 vegetable gardens in the village (0 in 1994). It will be a harsh year for many farm households, but without the investments in water harvesting it would have been a lot harsher. Similar stories can be told for the Northern part of Burkina Faso’s Central Plateau and for villages in Tigray (Ethiopia).

Natural regeneration on degraded slopes in combination with stone walls forces rainfall and runoff to infiltrate, which leads to groundwater recharge and expansion of irrigation in valleys and to the emergence of permanent springs (Tigray, Ethiopia).

We have a lot of anecdotal evidence, which taken together point to a plausible relationship between water harvesting and local groundwater recharge, but this is obviously one of the gaps in our knowledge that needs to be filled.

Conclusion
It is vital to create more productive and drought resilient farming systems in the Sahel and in the Horn of Africa to increase food production and improve soil fertility. Expanding agroforestry and developing water harvesting systems to recharge groundwater are vital first steps. There is no time to lose.

ARI update 7: October 2011

Wangari Maathai (April 1, 1940 – September 25, 2011)



Wangari Maathai
From September 5 – 16 I was in Nairobi to meet with the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), the Green Belt Movement and many other organisations. Almost everyday I travelled to and from my hotel to ICRAF…and every time I looked at a piece of beautiful and diverse forest in the city. The driver explained that it is the Karura Forest and he said..”it’s still there because of Wangari Maathai…in the 1990s the forest was given to developers who wanted to build big houses, but Wangari Maathai resisted this development”. On my way to the Kenyan Forest Research Institute, a driver made a similar remark about another forest.

Later I understood that resisting the developers meant that she was beaten up badly and even had to be hospitalized, but as soon as she got out of the hospital, the first thing she did was to go back to the forest to continue action….that’s courage…and she, and those who supported her,…won the battle.

She will always be remembered because she created the famous Greenbelt Movement, which planted tens of millions of trees in Kenya’s Highlands and she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, because of her relentless work not only for the environment, but also for democracy, peace, women’s rights and empowerment of the poor.

On September 23 I had the privilege to be in a meeting with Prof. Karanja Njoroge, the Executive Director of the Green Belt Movement, during which he unveiled a plan for creating a Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies at the University of Nairobi. I assume that funding will be mobilized to create this institute in memory of Wangari Maathai. One thing is certain…with or without this institute, she will continue to live in the hearts and minds of many people in and outside Africa for who she was, for what she did and for the difference she made.

Exploring a re-greening initiative in Kenya

Many parts of Kenya’s highlands have high on-farm tree densities and Grevillea robusta is a common species. Kenya is the only country in the world that has a Constitution which requires farmers to have 10% of their land under trees. Kenya has its successful Green Belt Movement…so why go to Kenya to explore a re-greening initiative?

The answer to this question is that almost all re-greening in Kenya is concentrated on planting of trees in the Highlands of Kenya and much less on Kenya’s drylands (about 80% of the country). Very little attention is paid to the potential of promoting on-farm and off-farm re-greening through the protection and management of natural regeneration.

This visit could not have come at a better moment as the Ministries of Agriculture and of Environment have started reflections about how to implement the 10% rule.

Dennis Garrity, DG of ICRAF till September 16, and his staff, provided all possible support to make this visit a success. Without their support much less would have been achieved. Meetings were held amongst others with:

- Prof. Margaret Kamar (Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology)
- Dr. Linah Jebii kilimo (Assistant Minister for Co-operative Development and Marketing)
- Dr. Wilson A. Songa (Agriculture Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture)
- Eng. J.A. M. Nkanya (Agricultural Engineering Service, Ministry of Agriculture)
- Mr. Wafula Mutoro (Head of Soil Conservation and Fertility Branch, Min. of Agriculture)
- Mrs. Janet A. Oyuke (Head Agroforestry, Ministry of Agriculture)
- Dr. Ben Chikamai (Director Kenya Forestry Research Insititute)
- Dr. Phanuel Oballa (Asst. Director Kenya Forest Research Institute)
- Prof. Karanja Njoroge (Executive Director Green Belt Movement)
- Mr. Mounkaila Goumandakoye (Director Africa UNEP)
- Dr. Mahamane Larwanou (African Forest Forum)
- Dr. Bashir Jama (Director Soil Health Program, AGRA)
- Mr. Lawrence Kiguro (Associate Director World Vision Kenya)
- Mr. Henrik Brudin (Regional Director SCC-Vi Eastern Africa)
- Mr. George Onyango (Deputy Regional Director SCC- Vi Eastern Africa)

All showed a keen interest in natural regeneration to build new agroforestry systems and to restore degraded natural forests. The impact of this visit is probably that farmer-managed natural regeneration will be on the table as an option for Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands.

The next step will be a regional meeting in Kenya on re-greening, which will be organized by World Vision. Tony Rinaudo of World Vision Australia plans to be in the region from March – May 2012. His visit will include practical training in farmer-managed natural regeneration. All persons met during this visit in first half of September will receive the ARI updates and will be informed about the regional conference in March 2012.

In the week of September 12 – 16, ICRAF had its Science Week, which meant that most ICRAF researchers were in Nairobi. This provided an extraordinary opportunity for discussion with researchers in-between meetings in town. It was possible to meet regularly with Dennis Garrity, who after having done two terms as DG of ICRAF will now become responsible for ICRAF’s Evergreen Agriculture Initiative, Phil Dobie (policy advisor), Moctar Touré (senior fellow), Ermias Betemariam (landscape ecologist), and many others.

The re-greening movement is expanding
Met in Nairobi with Roland Bunch, the author of “Two Ears of Corn” (www.rolandbunch.com). Roland worked for many years on cover crops in central America and is now very worried about declining soil fertility in many parts of Africa. Roland recently visited the on-farm re-greening in Mali’s Seno Plains and wants to join the ARI movement, which is very good news, because he brings with him vast experience and a big network.

At the same time a message arrived from CIKOD-Groundswell in Northern Ghana (www.groundswellinternational.org) with the request…can we join the re-greening movement? We want to promote re-greening in Northern Ghana and will try to mobilize our own funding. My reaction…yes, of course…you make my day. More about this in the next update.

Networking about farmer-managed re-greening in Washington (September 20 – 23).

Presentation at the World Resources Institute on September 21 about “Expanding re-greening successes in Africa’s drylands to increase food security and reduce poverty”

Multiple meetings at World Resources Institute with Bob Winterbottom (Director Ecosystem Services), Edward Cameron (Director International Climate Initiative), Nigel Sizer (Director Global Forest Initiative), Lars Laestadius (Senior Associate) and Manish Bapna (Interim President).

Presentation at World Bank TerrAfrica of “The man who stopped the desert” followed by discussion. About 30 persons attended, including Mary Barton-Dock, Director Environment, Martin Bwalya, Head of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and Paola Agostini of TerrAfrica and Regional GEF coordinaotor. The documentary was followed by a lively exchange about the role of farmer innovation and about farmer-managed re-greening.

Mary Barton-Dock subsequently stated the following:

This film is a wonderful piece of storytelling that recounts many critical lessons in the pursuit of economic and environmental sustainability in the Sahel. Yacouba's thriving farm and forest -- and the land rehabilitated by others he inspired -- show that individual champions and local communities can achieve much. But the film also shows that these remarkable achievements need to be underpinned by a strong policy and institutional environment, such as enforceable local resource rights and government accountability.

A follow-up presentation/meeting will be scheduled early in 2012.

Presentation at US Agency for International Development about “How can USAID help feed the future”. This presentation, which was organized by natural resource management specialists Chris Kosnik and Mike McGahuey, was also attended by 3 staff of the Food Security Bureau. It was followed by a meeting with Christian Holmes, USAID’s Global Water Coordinator, who suggested at the end of the meeting that he would like to visit the farmer-managed re-greening /new agroforestry parklands in the Sahel and he felt that was presented should be brought to the attention of the USAID Administrator.

A meeting at the Global Environment Facility with senior environmental specialist Mohamed Bakarr to discuss where re-greening/agroforestry can be presented in the upcoming Conference of Parties of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in October in South Korea.

During the different presentations in Washington, it was emphasized that resource users protect and manage natural regeneration for many reasons. One is that it helps them build more productive and more drought resilient farming systems. To farmers it is the lowest cost way of intensifying agriculture. One of the main benefits to women is that it reduces the time required for collection of firewood as they can now prune on-farm trees rather than walk many miles to search for some shrubs.

“The man who stopped the desert”

Since the beginning of 2011 this documentary about the life, innovations and impacts of farmer innovator Yacouba Sawadogo has won 4 awards:

February 2011 Special Jury Award at International Forest Film Festival (USA)
May 2011 8th Award at International Audiovisual Festival of Biodiversity (Rome)
August 2011 Best sustainability message at 10th Japan Wildlife Film Festival
September 2011 Sapphire award Montana Cine International Film Festival
and in April/May the film has been shown 4 times at France 5.

Mark Dodd (www.1080films.co.uk), who made the documentary, is now developing a scenario for a more general documentary about the multiple impacts of re-greening/agroforestry.

Web Alliance for Re-greening Africa (W4RA)

The 4 minute clip below explains the tools that the Web Alliance for Re-greening Africa is now developing to increase access of resource users to relevant information about re-greening and its impacts. It is essentially about linking mobile phones and rural radios. The tool has already been tested in Mali and a wider roll out will be tried in Mali in November. If it works then it can be used at a much larger scale to spread info about farmer-managed natural regeneration as well as on the natural regeneration of degraded forests.

W4RA film

Given the ambitious re-greening/forest landscape restoration initiatives now emerging, the strategic importance of this work by the Network Institute of VU University Amsterdam and the Web Foundation of Sir Tim Berners-Lee is increasing.

Media attention for re-greening

An article in the September issue of UNEP’s flagship publication….One Planet. This issue of One Planet was published just before a special session on September 20 of the UN General Assembly about desertification.

The German science magazine “Bild der Wissenschaft” published an article in its August issue.

It should also be mentioned here that all African Ministers of Agriculture met in South Africa in the week of September 12….about Climate Smart Agriculture. The document specifically prepared for this meeting contains a case study about re-greening in Niger and its cover page shows a Faidherbia albida parkland in Tanzania with a beautiful stand of crops under the trees. The message is increasingly getting across that agroforestry is a vital pillar in improving food security, increasing drought resilience of production systems and reducing rural poverty.

Tony Rinaudo of World Vision Australia and his partners

Tony is relentlessly promoting farmer managed natural regeneration and he is organizing training workshops from Ethiopia to Ghana and from Sumba (Indonesia) and East Timor to Senegal. More attention will be paid to his work in the next updates. Below some pictures of a training workshop in Tigray (Ethiopia) earlier this year, which included practical as well as theoretical training.

Update April 2011

The first picture shows an example of large-scale mechanized commercial
agriculture in Hawassa in Ethiopia’s Rift valley. In the distance on the right
hand side of the picture a tractor is ploughing the bare land. Two hours later
strong gusts of wind blew tons of topsoil from this ploughed field over lake
Hawassa (February 24, 2011). The owner of the land will have to apply
tons of fertilizers to compensate for the loss of fertile topsoil. No on-farm trees
to protect the land against wind and sun. It’s a clear example of unsustainable
agriculture.

RE-GREENING AND AFRICAN FOOD SECURITY
During my visit to Mali in the first week of April, I was told that the demographic growth rates for Mali had been revised upwards on the basis of a recent study. The assumption was that the growth rate was 2.2%, but the study showed that it is 3.6%. This means that Mali’s population will double in 20 years. Niger has a similar growth rate. The fact is that the population of many African countries will double in the next 20 to 25 years.

At the same time rainfall is becoming more irregular and soil fertility is depleting in many areas because traditional soil fertility restoration techniques (fallow) can no longer be used. Fertilizer prices are soaring, world market prices for cereals are increasing, food security stocks are declining. The macro picture for the next 20 years is quite gloomy. It’s obvious that major action is urgently required to sustainably intensify African agriculture .

Experience shows that farmers who have increased the number of on-farm (and sometimes off-farm) trees have not only improved household food security, but also adapted to climate change, maintained or improved soil fertility through nitrogen fixation and increased soil organic matter content, sequestered carbon in trees and soils, not only produced more food, but also more fodder and fuel . Agroforestry is not a silver bullet, other action is also required , but it is to all farmers the lowest cost pathway to sustainably intensify agriculture and the recurrent costs to governments and donor agencies are zero.

Experience in Niger shows that it is possible to build new agroforestry systems at scale. The 5 million ha of re-greened land produces more food, fodder, fuel and many other benefits. It is estimated that the impacts of re-greening feeds an additional 2.5 million people .

Many smaller and bigger examples in agriculture and in agroforestry in and outside the Sahel show that it is possible to expand the scale of existing successes . African Re-greening Initiatives has developed a strategy for building on existing successes, which it is trying to implement. The first indications are promising.

Although the macro picture is gloomy and we seem to be heading into what Roland Bunch calls “a perfect storm” , it is not a fatality, but we can’t afford to delay substantive action, because climate change is already aggravating the problem .

Re-greening in Burkina Faso
During its first year the re-greening initiative involved 106 villages in 6 provinces. What we see happening in the second year is a ripple effect. Neighbouring villages request to be also involved. For instance, in Gnagna Province 6 villages have joined and in Sanmatenga province the number of villages increased from 12 to 22. The total number of villages involved now stands at 125. In addition to this there is growing pressure to expand to other provinces. After the official launch of the re-greening initiative on January 25, 2011, two provinces have officially requested to also be included.

During meetings end March with key partners (Reseau MARP, Tree Aid, World Neighbours and representatives from local NGOs who operate as extension agents for re-greening at provincial level), it was decided to:

1. now start a process of monitoring and evaluation and develop tools for self-monitoring and self-evaluation by resource users and a small team has already been created to undertake this work;

2. intensify exchange and study visits by farmers and herders before the rainy season.

The exchange and study visits will concentrate on villages within the same “commune” in order to maximize the number of participants and reduce costs. Nevertheless, it was deemed important urgent to organize a visit by farmers and herders from Soum province (the region around Dori) to the Seno plains in Mali where significant re-greening has occurred…and farmers from the Seno Plains could be invited to train farmers and herders in Soum province.

The launch of “The man who stopped the desert” in Burkina Faso.

On March 27 the documentary about the life and work of Yacouba Savadogo was shown in his village. About 500 villagers joined the event. The next evening it was shown in the open air cinema of Ouahigouya, the regional capital. Even more people attended that event. After the showing Yacouba was almost overrun by those who wanted to congratulate him.

The link below is a 10 minute film which shows the events in the village and in the cinema.

http://www.1080films.co.uk/yacoubamovie/

Re-greening in Mali
During a short visit to the Seno Plains around Bankass on March 29 my impression was that the scale of on-farm re-greening in this region is under-estimated. The numbers used tend be around 15,000 ha, but it is obviously much more. Gray Tappan of the US Geological Survey is now using satellite images to get to grips with the scale. The first results will be known within a few weeks. The pictures on the next page give some impression about the diversity of situations in the area around Bankass.

This field close to Endé has a young high-density stand of Combretum Glutinosum, which provides high quality firewood. Densities are up to 270 trees/ha. Farmers prune the trees in June in such a way that competition with crops is minimized. The trees also produce several tons of litter/ha as can be seen on this picture. The picture below shows a stand of high-density young Faidherbia albida.

Like in Burkina Faso, a ripple effect is taking place. In all areas that the re-greening initiative is working, new villages want to join. The initiative is now active in the regions of Mopti, Tominian and Segou and will soon expand to Koulikoro. In the Mopti region 300 farmers participated in a re-greening competition and the fields of all these farmers were visited and demarcated by a committee of composed of representatives of the technical services (agriculture, forestry…..).

From the point of view of the promotion of farmer-managed re-greening, several positive, but also one negative development can be reported in Mali. The negative development is that Mali adopted a new forestry law in 2010, which does not mention agroforestry systems and natural regeneration. The new law is about repression and not about education. It is about deterring farmers to invest in on-farm trees rather than about inducing them to invest. The authorities recently decided to temporarily put the law on hold….as some protests against it turned violent. It is not unlikely that the new law will be adapted.

A very positive development is that the new Strategic Investment Plan for Sustainable Land Management in Mali specifically mentions farmer-managed re-greening as a high priority. This certainly offers opportunities for developing a national strategy for re-greening and for increased investments in agroforestry.

Re-greening in Tigray (Ethiopia)

Tony Rinaudo and Rob Francis of World Vision Australia were in Tigray in March as a follow-up to a training workshop on farmer managed natural regeneration by Tony 8 months ago. Tony’s report mentions that the Bureau of Agriculture has decided to institutionalize famer-managed natural regeneration and integrate it into their normal programming. This is highly relevant as the Bureau is the driving force behind the large-scale re-greening in Tigray. This may ultimately lead to the sustainable management and exploitation of natural regeneration as well as planted trees in what is called enclosures (over one million hectares). If you want more info, please contact: tony.rinaudo@worldvision.com.au

The Web Alliance for Re-greening in Africa (W4RA)

See previous update. The website for African Re-greening Initiatives is still under construction. A number of colleagues of VU University, World Wide Web Foundation and SahelECO will present a paper at the Web Science Conference in Koblenz (Germany) in June.

Is (Web) Science Ready for Empowerment?
Issues of Scientific Method – Illustrated by a Demo Roadshow in West Africa
Hans Akkermans, Nana Baah Gyan, The Network Institute, VU University Amsterdam
Anna Bon, Wendelien Tuyp, CIS, VU University Amsterdam, Aman Grewal, Stéphane Boyera, World Wide Web Foundation, London/Toulouse, Mary Allen, SahelEco, Bamako, Mali
Extended Abstract Submission ACM Web Science Conference 2011, Koblenz, D, 14-17 June 2011
Abstract. The World Wide Web opens up many avenues for new research. Some of them (Web as observable phenomenon, Web as engineered technology) fall quite well within mainstream academic notions of research. This is much less so if we position the Web as an instrument for empowerment. Informed by our W4RA field research experiences in West Africa, we review issues of scientific research and methodology if it is to be relevant to issues of empowerment. Keywords: The pro-human Web, evolving technologies, knowledge production, Web futures

A HERO

Below you see the picture of Adama Kindo taken on March 28. He recently returned from Ivory Coast to the village of Bogoya (Burkina Faso). Adama lost an arm in a road accident in Ivory Coast, but using his left arm he just dug zaï on about a hectare and filled them with compost. Adama is determined to develop a diverse agroforestry system just as his cousin Ousséni Kindo has done since 1985 on an adjacent field of 4.5 ha. Ousséni Kindo and his family have been food secure since 1985.

Media attention

Below you’ll find a link to an article in major German newspaper “Welt am Sonntag”, which is about the Great Green Wall, but it also pays attention to farmer managed re-greening in Senegal and in Niger.

In about two months, the New Yorker ( a US weekly with 1.2 million subscribers) will have a substantial article about re-greening. We’ll come back to it when published.

Upcoming events

On May 2, Dr. Dennis Garrity, DG of the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in Nairobi, will visit Amsterdam. That will be a new opportunity to discuss how to build linkages between ICRAF’s Evergreen Agriculture initiative and African Re-greening Initiatives.

Next update
The next update will be produced around mid May.

For more information about ARI please contact:

Chris Reij
or Wendelien Tuyp (wam.tuyp@cis.vu.nl)

For more information about the Web Alliance for Re-greening in Africa (W4RA), please contact:
Anna Bon, ICT Consultant (a.bon@cis.vu.nl)