Radio Helps Niger Farmers Bring Life Back to Their Land

The document describes how the World Resources Institute (WRI) and Niger's Ministry of the Environment used Radio Zumunci in the Maradi region to share the success stories of farmers Ali Malam and Sakina Mati. By broadcasting the benefits of farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR)—a technique of pruning old tree stumps to restore soil fertility and water availability—the program generated significant interest and capacity for land restoration among rural farmers. This approach supports Niger's commitment under the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100) to restore 3.2 million hectares of degraded land.

• Farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR) involves selective pruning, or pollarding, of shoots from old tree stumps and roots to stimulate growth, which helps pull water from deep underground, stabilize nutrient-rich soil, and increase crop yields.
• FMNR provides economic benefits to farmers by increasing harvests and creating sustainable income sources through the sale of tree trimmings, branches, pods, bark, and fruit, which helps them survive droughts and poor harvests.
• The use of community radio, specifically Radio Zumunci in the Maradi region, proved to be a simple and effective method for spreading restoration knowledge, resulting in high engagement from farmers in villages such as Bakabé and Dan Saga.
• Niger has seen significant progress with FMNR since the early 1990s, with at least one million households managing trees on approximately 5 million hectares of cropland, though 5.5 million people still live on severely degraded land.
• Through the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), Niger's Ministry of the Environment aims to restore 3.2 million hectares of degraded land across the country.

APA

World Resources Institute (2018). Radio Helps Niger Farmers Bring Life Back to Their Land. https://www.wri.org/insights/radio-helps-niger-farmers-bring-life-back-their-land

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Radio Helps Niger Farmers Bring Life Back to Their Land. 2018. https://www.wri.org/insights/radio-helps-niger-farmers-bring-life-back-their-land.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Radio Helps Niger Farmers Bring Life Back to Their Land |date=7 August 2018 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/radio-helps-niger-farmers-bring-life-back-their-land |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2018radio, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Radio Helps Niger Farmers Bring Life Back to Their Land}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2018}, month = aug, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/radio-helps-niger-farmers-bring-life-back-their-land}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }