Mali
Oxfam Mali leads a consortium of partners to expand the scale of Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration and other agroforestry practices suited to the Sahel Region in Mali.
Regreening Africa deploys innovative local governance mechanisms to combat human-induced land degradation, such as large-scale savanna fires and indiscriminate felling of trees for firewood and charcoal.
Regreening Africa is strengthening value chains around valuable tree species, such as Shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) and Nere (Parkia biglobosa).
Highlights
Regreening targets
160,000 hectares
80,000 households
Sites
Koutiala
Yorosso
Tominian
San
Partners
Oxfam Mali
Catholic Relief Services
World Vision
Sahel Eco
ICRAF Sahel
Approaches to reversing land degradation
- Community videos showcasing previously successful interventions, leaflets and booklets with demonstrations of various practices, local radio programs
- Improving local governance structures around livestock, including grazing and regulation of movement during dry seasons, to increase tree survival rates
- Integrating Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration and other land restoration practices through women’s groups (Village Savings and Loans Associations and other community-based organisations)
- Strengthening the capacity of agricultural extension officers and staff of community-based organizations in Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration to accelerate the expansion of scale
- Facilitating visits of farmers and agricultural extension officers to areas in which land restoration has occurred
- Strengthening tree-based value chains for economic benefits for farmers and creating incentives for adoption and protection of trees on farms
- Organizing local rewards’ events and mechanisms for farmers adopting best agronomic practices
- Collaborating with networks at local and national level to ensure dissemination of information and build social and capital to support the development of enabling policies
Project sites
- Koutiala Cercle
- Yorosso Cercle
- Tomininian Cercle
- Cercle of San
The Koutiala Cercle covers 12,000 km2 of the Sikasso Region. It includes 263 villages in 36 rural communes. Its climate is characterised by a six-month wet season (May to October) with 900–1000 mm of rainfall and a dry season from November to April.
Koutiala Cercle had a population of 575,000 in 2009, of which 137,000 lived in the municipality of Koutiala. The Cercle is dominated by cotton growing, which stimulates mechanization and stump removal to facilitate ploughing, causing soil infertility and a high investment in chemical fertilizers.
Yorosso Cercle features a steadily increasing level of desertification owing to uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources and lack of reforestation. The Cercle had 211,000 inhabitants (107,000 of whom were women) in 2009. It is also a densely populated area, exceeding the national average.
The Tomininian Cercle in Segou Region is located in the Sudanian agro-ecological zone, with rainfall ranging 600–1000 mm. Primary crops are millet, sorghum, maize, fonio, sesame and peanut. Land under agriculture increased by 150% between 2008 and 2015.
The Cercle of San is also in Segou Region, with 25 communes covering 7262 km2 and a population of 334,000 in 2009. It borders the northern part of Sikasso Region within the Sudanian agro-ecological zone. The area is highly degraded because of the severity of the climate.
Expected impact
- Direct interventions will reach 50,000 producers, 30% of whom are women
- 100,000 hectares of degraded land will be directly restored
- 30,000 producers, of whom 30% are women, on 60,000 hectares will be indirectly influenced
- Vegetation cover will increase, improving biodiversity, soil fertility and agricultural and fodder productivity with consequent enhancement of food security and household incomes. Soil erosion will also be reduced
- Non-timber forest products’ values will be increased through the development of value chains that diversify farmers’ livelihoods
Contact details
Oxfam
Mamadou Fotigui Coulibaly
Project Manager
MFCoulibaly@oxfam.org.uk
World Agroforestry Centre
Djalal Arinloye
ICRAF Representative Sahel/ West and Central Africa Region a.arinloye@cgiar.org