Farmer managed natural regeneration in north western Ghana: farmers perceived benefits, implementation challenges and management practices

Abstract

Over the past five decades, land degradation, desertification and food insecurity have been a major concern globally. Severally initiatives by development actors to combat the menace has yielded low results. Yet studies have reported the importance of Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration as panacea for combating land degradation and desertification in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aims to contribute to the growing evidence of farmers perceived FMNR, their willingness to adopt the practice and the management practices. This study explores how smallholder farmers perceived FMNR and their willingness to adopt the concept for environmental management and sustainability. Using a mixed methods approach, interviews, structured questionnaires and focus group discussions were conducted across the study communities. The results show that, farmers perceived farmer managed natural regeneration as critical to reclaiming the environment that has been lost to desertification and land degradation. Farmers also perceived FMNR as a way of restoring lost ecosystem services, particularly provisioning and supporting ecosystem functions. The results further show that farmers have adopted the practices, and need continuous tree management support from the Forestry Commission of Ghana and non-profit organizations to restore their gradually diminishing forest cover. The study recommends the need to provide farmers with seedlings or train farmers on nursing and transplanting of seedlings. In this way, farmers across areas demarcated for FMNR across Africa and other destinations are able to have access to enough seedlings for planting to regenerate the tree cover for current and intergenerational benefits.