admin | June 8, 2015
Two of this week’s stories address the growing problem of drought across sub-Saharan Africa. Our script of the week―from our most recent Resource Pack—addresses the same theme.
Burkina Faso is a country in the heart of West Africa. Desertification, or progressive drying of the land, has grown worse in the country over the last four decades because of drought. Water and wind erosion and the impact of human activities such as farming have significantly degraded soils. Scarce and irregular rainfall also makes farming difficult, and climate change further complicates farmers’ lives.
But farmers in the Central Plateau of Burkina Faso are having success tackling this situation with traditional techniques such as zai, demi-lunes and stone lines. Indeed, much land that was damaged is now suitable for farming, and yields are improving.
In this script, we meet with local farmers and an agricultural expert who share their experiences with restoring degraded land.