Farmer-led innovation in Burkina Faso and Niger
Chris Reij, Gray Tappan, and Melinda Smale
Case studies:
Integrating people and the environment
Key period: 1980–present
Geographic region: Burkina Faso and Niger
The intervention: The rediscovery and diffusion of traditional agroforestry, water, and soil management practices in Burkina Faso and Niger has transformed large swathes of the region’s arid landscape into productive agricultural land. In Burkina Faso’s Central Plateau, the rehabilitation of between 200,000 and 300,000 hectares translated into roughly 80,000 tons of additional food per year, enough to sustain about half a million people in the region. In southern Niger, farmer investments in agriculture are estimated to have transformed approximately 5 million hectares of land, improving food security for at least 2.5 million people.
Book Chapter:
Re-Greening the Sahel: Farmer-led innovation in Burkina Faso and Niger
Chris Reij, Gray Tappan, and Melinda Smale
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Discussion Paper:
Agroenvironmental transformation in the Sahel: Another kind of "Green Revolution"
Reij, Chris; Tappan, Gary; Smale, Melinda. 2009. IFPRI Discussion Paper 914.
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