Notes to broadcasters on Assisted Natural Regeneration

    | December 17, 2012

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    Our story from Niger details the benefits that farmers enjoy when they allow trees to grow in their fields through Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR). These benefits include improved soil health, which leads to better yields, plus income from selling cut wood.

    But the practice of ANR is not limited to farmers’ fields. Wherever it is practiced, it has environmental benefits that reach beyond the community. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, ANR can:
    -be a cost efficient way of regenerating forests;
    -provide job opportunities for communities;
    -contribute to strengthening biodiversity;
    -provide hunting areas; and
    -increase carbon sequestration and carbon sinks which contribute to climate change mitigation.

    For more information on ANR, as it is practiced by individual farmers and communities around the world, go to: http://www.fao.org/forestry/anr/en/, go to: http://www.farmradio.org/archived-radio-scripts/?scriptcat=forestry

    Farmers grow trees for many reasons – for firewood or lumber, for fruit or nuts, to improve soil fertility and prevent soil erosion, or even for payment as part of government reforestation efforts or climate change mitigation projects. Some of these reasons are discussed in the following stories from past editions of FRW:
    -Burundi: Farmers turn to timber (FRW 217, September 2012).
    http://weekly.farmradio.org/2012/09/17/burundi-farmers-turn-to-timber-syfia-grands-lacs/
    -Burkina Faso: Bonuses boost farmers’ reforestation efforts (FRW 174, October 2011).
    http://weekly.farmradio.org/2011/10/03/burkina-faso-bonuses-boost-farmers-reforestation-efforts-ips/
    -Southern Africa: Tree is a ‘fertilizer factory in the field’ (FRW 82, September 2009).
    http://weekly.farmradio.org/2009/09/28/2-southern-africa-tree-is-a-%E2%80%98fertilizer-factory-in-the-field%E2%80%99-mongabay-unep/
    -Uganda: Beekeeping and tree planting go hand in hand (FRW 43, November 2008).
    http://weekly.farmradio.org/2008/11/10/uganda-beekeeping-and-tree-planting-go-hand-in-hand-by-sawa-pius-for-farm-radio-weekly-in-kampala-uganda/

    Do farmers in your area grow trees, either as a crop, or as a means to protect their crops? What are the traditional reasons for growing trees? Are there any new trends in local farmers’ tree growing practices? With a little research, you may find an interesting local news story (or more) on this topic!