Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration Research Articles

Carbon stocks of Humbo Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration forest along altitudinal gradients, Southern Ethiopia

Carbon stocks of Humbo Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration forest along altitudinal gradients, Southern Ethiopia

Global movements for accelerating climate change action: the case of Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration

ABSTRACT Much can be learned from burgeoning climate action movements in thousands of majority world rural communities. Land degradation has increased the vulnerability of over three billion people to famine, food insecurity, water shortages, and increasingly severe weather events, trapping climate-vulnerable communities in vicious cycles of impoverishment. Yet, many communities are learning through local climate action how to escape these cycles. We offer the case of Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) as one example to understand the conditions under which impoverished rural communities address ecological degradation. Combining simple reforestation action with a community engagement approach enables farming households using FMNR to regreen their landscapes, increase food security, reduce poverty, increase resilience to climate change and transform rural development. Communities in at least 29 countries are practising FMNR, reforesting tens of millions of hectares of land, strengthening communities, and restoring landscapes. Synergies between FMNR and faith-based moral principles help boost its embrace. Across the majority world, moral imagination and reasoning help motivate emotions that sustain farmers’ local action through their hope of a better future and scale up globally important community-based agricultural movements. Such collective action movements harness synergies between climate justice, poverty reduction, and human flourishing.

Natural regeneration of drylands and associated pathways to human health outcomes: Perspectives from rural households

Land degradation and climate change are intertwined global challenges, their implications on human health are driven by the unsustainable use of natural resources, resulting in the loss of vital ecosystem services that support human health. There are equity implications in that landscape degradation disproportionately affects vulnerable populations that live in the most fragile ecosystems. Solutions to reverse degradation are increasingly considered attractive because of their ability to meet multiple societal objectives, however, their implementation has outpaced research on impact; the research and evidence gaps are particularly acute in relation to quantifying the health and well-being impacts of nature-based solutions. This study documents the experiences of rural communities implementing Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) in Central Tanzanian drylands, which integrates trees in agricultural landscapes. FMNR technique has been hailed as the largest positive environmental transformation in African drylands due to its effectiveness in restoring landscapes at very low costs. Despite its success, the impact on human well-being is largely unquantified. We used in-depth group discussions across four villages to document how respondents perceive the health and well-being impacts of natural regeneration. We thereafter adapted the ecosystem services cascade model to conceptualise the pathways between natural regeneration and impact on health and well-being. Respondents across all study sites unanimously reported how FMNR implementation has reversed decades of land degradation, resulting in physical and mental health benefits that can be linked to food and nutritional security, improved air and water quality, income diversification, heat adaptation and gender equality. We demonstrate how the application of the cascade model can generate causal pathways that 1) map how changes in ecosystem structure, functions and services can result in measurable health outcomes, and, 2) support empirical investigation by defining concrete metrics for monitoring and evaluation of interventions.

Farmer managed natural regeneration to reconstitute agroforestry parklands in Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is facing an accelerated degradation of natural resources, exacerbated by natural phenomena and human activities which, coupled with the impact of climate change and poverty, have caused food insecurity in the arid province of Passoré. To address these challenges, farmers have been implementing initiatives rooted in local knowledge and traditional practices. The practice of interest is farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR), an ancestral agroforestry practice that protects and tends to spontaneous tree growth in agricultural fields. A qualitative study conducted in the province of Passoré revealed farmers’ reasons for adopting FMNR. As a low-cost practice that requires few technical or financial resources, farmers are attracted to its affordability. FMNR also enables farmers to circumvent customary prohibitions regarding tree planting, and navigate land ownership dynamics, as it involves tending to spontaneous growth rather than deliberate planting. Since FMNR does not involve tree planting, it does not imply land ownership claims, making it inclusive for migrants and women who have limited land rights. By introducing indigenous species such as Piliostigma reticulatum (bangandé) FMNR helps meet energy needs called for by women, and improves the density of plant cover, restoring clearings while improving livelihoods. FMNR has been instrumental in empowering women by providing commercial opportunities in the non-timber forest product (NTFP) sector, enabling them to earn an independent income, strengthening their autonomy within the household. FMNR has thus become integral to farming systems in Passoré due to its many tangible agronomic, environmental and socioeconomic benefits, offering solutions to land degradation, exclusion from tree planting projects, food insecurity and gender inequality. Broader dissemination of its potential for rapid restoration of forest resources at low cost is, therefore, recommended to help other regions of Burkina Faso overcome their challenges of degradation and climate change.

Three decades of Faidherbia albida agroforestry in Far North Region, Cameroon

Agroforestry plays a vital role in the economic and ecological sustainability of semi-arid and subhumid regions of Africa, particularly in combating climate change, land degradation, and meeting food and fuelwood needs. In the Sahelian climate, farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR) is a cost-effective agroforestry practice, that involves selecting, protecting and managing spontaneous tree regrowth, notably of Faidherbia albida, a legume species well-suited for FMNR in semi-arid areas. In the Far North Region of Cameroon, agroforestry parklands with Faidherbia albida have been supported by various projects for the last three decades. Farmers have been provided with subsidies to protect trees in their fields, resulting in the conservation of close to two million Faidherbia albida trees. These trees provide significant economic benefits to rural populations, contributing to increased crop yields, especially in nutrient-poor soils, and provide significant firewood savings and nitrogen rich animal fodder during the sparse dry season when livestock are most in need. They also provide ecological benefits, as they store carbon and conserve biodiversity, contributing to climate change mitigation. These benefits have motivated the expansion of FMNR even in the face of farmers no longer receiving subsidies. To ensure its sustainability, certain conditions must be met, including security of tenure, effective enforcement of sustainable management practices, continued project support, dissemination of convincing research results, regular incentives from government and international organisations, and low-cost labour and input methods. By adhering to these conditions, agroforestry can continue to play a crucial role in enhancing livelihoods and environmental resilience in the Sahel.

Benefits of farmer managed natural regeneration to food security in semi-arid Ghana

Promoting Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) aims to increase the productive capacities of farmer households. Under FMNR, farmers select and manage natural regeneration on farmlands and keep them under production. While FMNR contributes to the wealth of farming communities, its contribution to household food security has rarely been researched. We, therefore, used a mixed-methods approach to address the research gap by measuring FMNR’s contribution to food security among farmer households in the Talensi district of Ghana. We adopted the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) and Food Consumption Score (FCS) to estimate food security status among 243 FMNR farmer households and 243 non-FMNR farmer households. Also, we performed a Chi-square test of independence to compare the frequency of each food group (present vs not present) between FMNR adopters and non-FMNR adopters to establish the relationship between adopting FMNR and consuming the FCS and HDDS food groups. Our results reveal that FMNR farmer households are more food secure than non-FMNR farmer households. The HHDS of the FMNR farmer households was 9.6, which is higher than the target value of 9.1. Conversely, the HHDS of the non-FMNR farmer households was 4.3, which is lower than the target value of 9.1. Up to 86% and 37% of the FMNR farmer households and non-FMNR farmer households fell within acceptable FCS; 15% and 17% of FMNR farmer households and non-FMNR farmer households fell within borderline FCS. While none of the FMNR farmer households fell within poor FCS, 46% of non-FMNR farmer households fell within poor FCS. Adopting FMNR is significantly related to consuming all food groups promoted and benefiting from FMNR practices. The paper recommends enabling farmers in semi-arid environments to practice and invest in FMNR for long-term returns to food security.

Floristic Composition, Population Structure, and Recruitment Status of Plant Species: A Case Study of Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration Practices in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands in Kenya

Floristic Composition, Population Structure, and Recruitment Status of Plant Species: A Case Study of Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration Practices in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands in Kenya

Local institutions, actors and governance systems under farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR) in Northwestern Ghana

Local institutions, actors and governance systems under farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR) in Northwestern Ghana

Impact of Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration on Resilience and Welfare in Mali

Climate change, poverty, and low environmental education have contributed to increasing vulnerability of poor farmers in Mali. This study was done to determine the impact of low-cost adaptation strategies on resilience and welfare. We analyzed the impact of a World Vision project which promoted climate-smart agricultural (CSA) practices in Mali from 2016-2019. We identified the impact using a two-stage weighted regression (2SWR). Results show that the World Vision Project significantly increased the adoption of Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) practice and eventually crop yield. These intermediate impacts were translated into a significant reduction in food and nutrition insecurity and an increase in household income. The impacts of the project on child health were especially greater for farmers who participated in the project for a longer time. However, the project did not have a significant impact on the adoption of a combination of CSA practices – which could have enhanced the effectiveness of the FMNR practice. The results suggest the need for future interventions to emphasize the promotion of complementary CSA practices, which significantly increases returns to farmer investments.

Assessing the Potentials of Nature-Based Solutions to Climate Change Adaptation in Nigeria

One issue that threatens virtually every industry in Nigeria is climate change, which has the potential to reverse the country's years of progress in that area. Nigeria can no longer opt to adapt to climate change. Despite the nation's efforts to adapt to climate change, much work remains, particularly in examining the possibilities of nature-based climate solutions to combat climate change. This study uses a desk review approach, which was supplemented by involvement from stakeholders. The results showed that there are numerous nature-based solutions that can be used to improve the vulnerable populations' capacity for coping with climate change. These include, but are not limited to, the adoption of better soil and land management practices, the use of drought-tolerant crops, farmer-managed natural forest regeneration, agroforestry, a novel approach to insurance risk pooling, the use of early maturing cultivars, and others.

Floristic composition of agroforestry parklands in the semi-arid zone of Ghana: A special focus on Faidherbia albida (Delile) A. Chev

In order to understand the dynamics of regeneration, growth, population and possible upscale for the benefit of agroforestry parkland trees in the semi-arid areas of Ghana, a study was conducted to determine the population density, diversity, relative dominance, importance value indices (IVI) and use categories of parkland tree species in the Sudan and Guinea Savannah vegetation zones of Ghana, with special reference to F. albida. Tree inventories were conducted on 80 sampled farms covering a total area of 74.2 hectares across 8 communities distributed in 4 districts in the Sudan and Guinea savannah zones. Mean farm size was 0.93 hectares. Fifty-four tree species belonging to 24 families were encountered during the study. A Simpson's diversity index of 2.72 was determined as the overall diversity index of tree species on farmlands. Tree population densities in the sampled communities ranged between 4 (Katiu) and 11 (Kugri) trees per hectare. The predominant uses of parkland trees include food, medicine, shade, fuelwood and wood for construction. Others include fencing, soil improvement, direct income from sale of tree products, erosion control, fodder, tools, deity, packaging and craft. Ranking parkland tree species according to their Importance Value Indices (IVIs) in the various study ecological zones, it was evident that Faidherbia albida is highly ranked in both ecological zones due to its multipurpose functions such as fodder (pods and leaves) provision, shade provision in the dry season, and its contribution to improved growth and yield of crops grown under its canopy. Faidherbia albida populations should be increased on farmlands through programs like the Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) and possible domestication.

Farmers’ perspectives and context are key for the success and sustainability of farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR) in northeastern Ghana

Restoring degraded landscapes is critical for achieving global environmental and development goals, and agroforestry is increasingly promoted as a nature-based solution to land degradation. Farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR) is an agroforestry-based approach for restoring degraded agricultural land and it has been widely implemented in African drylands. However, a recent systematic review found significant gaps in the evidence base for FMNR, including that its upscaling has been based on inadequate understandings of local contexts. Furthermore, studies reporting on farmer adoption of FMNR have mainly relied on quantitative data from household surveys, resulting in limited understandings of what motivates farmers who practice FMNR. This paper draws on the results of a qualitative study in northeastern Ghana to address two questions: 1) How and why do farmers practice FMNR? And 2) How does context influence farmers’ rationales for practicing FMNR? We found that farmers grounded their perspectives on the utility of FMNR in nuanced understandings of the local farming and land and tree tenure systems. The results of our study also demonstrate how farmers’ decision-making was situated within socially and agroecologically differentiated contexts, which were conditioned by long-term, multi-faceted change in the region. We conclude that in spite of the rush to scale up FMNR, more attention should be directed to assessing where, when, and for whom FMNR might be appropriate. Such assessments should be grounded in resource managers’ preferences, local agricultural and land and tree tenure systems, and the requisite biophysical conditions for FMNR. To support these efforts, we propose an FMNR suitability assessment framework, based on our findings and those from related studies. As landscape restoration is scaled up globally, initiatives should be informed by evidence demonstrating how and why resource managers might practice a restoration activity as well as how context influences their choices.

Impact of a Climate Smart Technology: Case of the Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration on Trees Biodiversity in Sudano-Sahelian Parklands of Kayes and Koulikoro, in Mali

In the Sahel, parklands are degraded due to climate change, human and animal pressure. The objective of this research was to assess the effect of Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) on trees biodiversity in Sudano-sahelian parklands of Kayes and Koulikoro, in Mali. Trees inventory was carried out in agricultural areas. The size of an inventory plot was 2500m². The inventory plots were 500 meters apart. The total area inventoried was 20 hectares. The woody flora of studied areas was made of 27 species of trees. Most represented families were Combretaceae (6 species); Mimosaceae (4 species) and Cesalpiniaceae (3 species). Families, species and genera of trees have varied according to the rural communities. In fact 8, 15, 12 and 11 species have been identified respectively in Tieneguebougou; Farako; Guemou and Bienkolobougou. The characteristic species has varied depending on studied areas with 2, 7, 3 and 3 species in respective localities. The index of regularity showed an identical high level of trees organization in Tieneguebougou, Guemou and Bienkolobougou. But, the index was low in Farako. A comparison of indexes values showed although the floristic composition was low in Tieneguebougou; Guemou and Bienkolobougou, their woody stand organization was further constant. The FMNR has increased the biodiversity of trees and consequently the volume of wood in agrarian areas. This biodiversity of trees contributes to carbon sequestration and strengthens the resilience of populations by providing them with goods (firewood, honey, etc.) and eco-systemic services. FMNR is a climate-smart technology, whose scaling up in Mali is essential.

Key dimensions of land users’ perceptions of land degradation and sustainable land management in Niger State, Nigeria

Declining land productivity remains a challenge for agriculture-based livelihoods and for achieving food security. Yet identifying how land users perceive land degradation and their capacity to manage land in an environmentally sustainable manner can influence the measures initiated to address it. Using the case of Niger State, Nigeria, this study examines land users’ perceptions of land degradation and land management measures to address it in the Nigerian Guinea Savannah. We used the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index as a proxy for degradation status, selecting 30 communities based on the extent of degraded areas. We adapted the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies, Sustainable Land Management questionnaires to capture perceptions and administered 225 questionnaires to land users. Through key informant interviews, we collected narrative insights and data on perspectives and motivations of land users to understand land degradation situations and to interpret the questionnaire surveys. We analysed data through descriptive statistics, Principal Component Analysis and qualitative analysis. Our analysis identified four perceptions dimensions of land degradation characteristics, two perceptions dimensions of land degradation drivers, and six perceptions dimensions of sustainable land management. The results also confirmed that degradation in Niger State is both due to widespread unsustainable human activities within Niger state and those by migrant farmers and pastoralism from adjoining Sudan Sahelian states that push people further south, a leakage of ongoing land degradation and conflicts in other areas. To deal with local land degradation in Niger State, improved land tenure, alternative livelihood strategies, poverty eradication and awareness, nature-based sustainable land management practices such as tree-based initiatives, environmentally friendly agriculture such as Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration supported by the necessary political will and institutions are critical.

Farmers’ perception on the benefits and constraints of Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration and determinants of its adoption in the southern groundnut basin of Senegal

Farmers’ perception on the benefits and constraints of Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration and determinants of its adoption in the southern groundnut basin of Senegal

Assessing Social Equity in Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) Interventions: Findings from Ghana

Matt Kandel⇑ B44/R2015, School of Geography and Environmental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom. m.kandel{at}soton.ac.uk.

Opportunities and Constraints for Using Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration for Land Restoration in Sub-Saharan Africa

Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) comprises a set of practices used by farmers to encourage the growth of native trees on agricultural land. FMNR is reported to deliver a number of positive impacts, including increasing agricultural productivity through soil fertility improvement and feed for livestock, incomes, and other environmental benefits. It is widely promoted in Africa as a cost-effective way of restoring degraded land, that overcomes the challenge of low survival rates associated with tree planting in arid and semi-arid areas. Despite being widely promoted, the evidence for these bold claims about FMNR has not been systematically analyzed. This paper reviews the scientific evidence related to the contexts in which FMNR is practiced across sub-Saharan Africa, how this influences the composition of regenerating vegetation, and the resulting environmental and socio-economic benefits derived from it. This reveals that quantitative evidence on FMNR outcomes is sparse and mainly related to experience in the Maradi and Zinder regions of Niger. There is little mechanistic understanding relating how context conditions the diversity and abundance of regenerating trees and how this in turn is related to ecosystem function and livelihood benefits. This makes it difficult to determine where and for whom FMNR is an appropriate restoration technique and where it might be necessary to combine it with enrichment planting. Given the need for viable restoration practices for agricultural land across Africa, well beyond the climatic and edaphic contexts covered by existing FMNR studies, we recommend research combining functional ecology and socio-economic assessments, embedded as co-learning components within scaling up initiatives. This would fill key knowledge gaps, enabling the development of context-sensitive advice on where and how to promote FMNR, as well as the calculation of the return on investment of doing so.

Species Selection and Management Under Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration in Dodoma, Tanzania

Farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR) is promoted as a cost-effective technique to restore degraded arable drylands. Evidence comes mainly from the West-African Sahel, where it is a traditional practice, and it is now being promoted across the African continent. In this study, we evaluated the role of the farmer affecting natural regeneration under farmer managed natural regeneration in the highly degraded Dodoma region in Tanzania. We systematically assessed the linkages between species selection, perceived benefits and management practices as reported by 57 farmers in 13 villages involved in FMNR. On average, farmers list 2.8 species to be promoted on their farms as part of the practice of FMNR. In total, a list of 69 species was promoted by the practice, of which most (51) were only mentioned by one or two farmers, indicating that FMNR may contribute substantially to on-farm regional diversity. Most species selected were associated with a range of benefits and the diversity of benefits, not any single benefit, explained species selection under FMNR. Management of FMNR species goes beyond pruning, a practice promoted within FMNR, and is characterized by 10 different practices that are differentially applied to the selected species and individuals. We conclude that species selection and management under FMNR is driven by farmers autonomous decisions, making FMNR both diverse and complex and complicates predicting the extent to which FMNR may successfully contribute to achieving specific restoration outcomes. Monitoring farms over extended periods may increase outcome prediction capacity.

Farmers\u2019 perception and reasons for practicing farmer managed natural regeneration in Tigray, Ethiopia

Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) is a rapid, low cost and easily replicated approach to restore and improve degraded agricultural, forest and pasture lands. The study was conducted in low (500–1500 m.a.s.l) and mid (1500–2300 m.a.s.l) altitude agro-ecologies of Tigray region assessing farmer’s perception and reasons to practice FMNR. Purposive sampling was used to select three peasant associations (PA’s) from each agro-ecology. Simple random sampling was used to select respondents from household heads practicing FMNR. There were 15 respondents from each PA. Total respondents used for the study in both agro-ecologies were 90. All the data required for the study was collected through in-depth household survey and group discussions. Forty two percent (42.2%) of the respondents had 21–30 years of FMNR experience. Seventeen percent of the respondents with FMNR experience were from lowland and 26% were from mid land agro-ecology. FMNR has been practiced for more than two decades in the study areas. In both low and midland agro-ecologies, motivation of the respondents to practice FMNR was the training received from expert’s (37.1%) and neighbors’ success (29.2%). In the lowland, respondent’s main purpose to practice FMNR was fuel wood and fruit collection (49%) while in the midland the objectives were for fuel wood (50%), soil conservation (47%) and fodder (47%). FMNR has enormous importance in the livelihoods of the rural people especially in providing fuel wood, food/fruits, construction materials and farm equipment.

Drivers of farmer-managed natural regeneration in the Sahel. Lessons for restoration

Farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR) is being promoted for restoration beyond its original range in the Sahel. FMNR involves farmers selecting and managing natural regeneration on their fields, while keeping them under the primary function of agricultural production. However, little is known about what regenerates in different contexts, even though this underlies potential restoration impact. Here we assess how human impact, land degradation and dispersal limitation affect structural and functional properties of regeneration across 316 plots in agroforestry parklands of Ghana and Burkina Faso. We found that intensity of land use (grazing and agricultural practices) and dispersal limitation inhibited regeneration, while land degradation did not. Functional composition of regenerating communities shifted towards shorter statured, small-seeded and conservative strategies with intensity of land use. We conclude that the presence of trees of desired species in the vicinity is a precondition for successfully implementing FMNR for restoration, and that regeneration needs to be protected from grazing. Assessment of regeneration potential is imperative for scaling out FMNR and where natural regeneration will be insufficient to achieve restoration targets, FMNR needs to be complemented with tree planting.