Dry land tree management for improved household livelihoods: Farmer managed natural regeneration in Niger

Haglund, E and Ndjeunga, J and Snook, L and Pasternak, D (2011) Dry land tree management for improved household livelihoods: Farmer managed natural regeneration in Niger. Journal of Enviroment Management, 92 (7). pp. 1696-1705. ISSN 0301-4797

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Abstract

Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR), a set of practices farmers use to foster the growth of indigenous trees on agricultural land, has drawn substantial attention as a contributing factor to a trend of increasing vegetation greenness in the Republic of Niger. This paper identifies drivers of FMNR adoption and assesses its impacts on rural households in the Region of Maradi, Niger, an area covering 42,000 square kilometers. The results show that 26% of households practice a form of FMNR involving both pruning and protecting woody vegetation. Adoption is strongly linked to soil type, market access, and the education level of the head of household. FMNR raises household income and increases crop diversity, household migration rates, and the density and diversity of trees on farmland. It is estimated that FMNR raises the annual gross income of the region by between 17 and 21 million USD and has contributed an additional 900,000 to 1,000,000 trees to the local environment. These findings support the value of continued promotion of FMNR as an inexpensive means of enhancing rural livelihoods and an attractive alternative to reforestation efforts relying on tree planting.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	UNSPECIFIED
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Agroforestry,Adoption, Imapct,Sahel, Niger
Subjects:	Others > Agriculture-Farming, Production, Technology, Economics
Depositing User:	Mr Sanat Kumar Behera
Date Deposited:	16 Sep 2011 09:20
Last Modified:	14 Sep 2013 12:06
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/1659
Official URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2011.01.027
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics , Bioversity International, World Vision Australia
Acknowledgement:	The authors are grateful to ICRISAT, Bioversity International, and World Vision Australia for their financial support for this study. Serving in Mission (SIM) lent logistical assistance in Maradi. Abdoulaye Amadou was an invaluable resource during the collection of the field data. Tony Rinaudo, Peter Cunningham, Mahamane Larwanou, and Tougiani Abasse offered crucial insights and feedback based on their many years of FMNR experience. We wish to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their careful reading of the manuscript and their very helpful comments. We owe a special debt of gratitude to the hundreds of rural households in the Region of Maradi who were so generous with their time and personal information.
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