A groundbreaking regeneration project in Niger, West Africa has proved successful in reclaiming land from the harsh Sahara desert turning it into lush arable land, feeding half a million people who had depended on food aid for years.
With the help of the UN’s World Food Programme in partnership with the government of Niger, vast arid regions have been transformed into fertile land thanks to traditional water retention techniques known as half-moons and Zai pits.
The shallow excavations that are in the shape of half-moons are designed to capture and hold rainwater, allowing it to soak into the ground and replenish water tables. The contours of the half-moon pits enable them to intercept and store water flowing down a slope during heavy rains, preventing it from running off.
This double-edged strategy is effective in arid and semi-arid regions found in the Sahel where nine-months of drought are followed by three months of heavy rainfall which goes to waste because the top soil is too loose to retain water.
In addition to the half-moons, narrow but deep holes known as ‘zy pits’ are dug next to the half-moons to help collect and retain organic material which helps in the absorption of rainwater deep into the ground.
In one of the sites near the border with Nigeria, a 800 hectare under the restoration programme, 3 million cubic metres of water have soaked into the ground instead of running off. 15% of the absorbed water percolates underground helping in regenerating the water table which in turn makes it easier to drill wells for food production.
Tree and grass seeds are planted inside and around the half moon structures and within a year, these points become concentration points for water, nutrients, plants, and animals, fostering ecosystem growth and the return of life.
World Food Programme Senior Advisor, Resilience and Livelihoods, Volli Carucci told permaculture expert Andrew Millison that this intervention is one of the best ways to improve food security.
“The areas that the half-moons are 5 to 7 degrees (celsius) cooler than the areas that are without treatment…at the end of the day, this is a food basket in the making but it also nourishes the land that nourishes the people,” Carucci said.
In addition to weaning half a million people in rural Niger from relief food, the restoration initiative has allowed communities to produce diverse and nutritious foods like vegetables and fruits, enhancing local diets and reducing malnutrition in children and adults. The regenerated oasis also provides grass for livestock adding milk and meat to the community’s diet.
The project is part of ‘Africa’s Great Green Wall’, an ambitious undertaking to restore biodiversity along an expansive 8,000 kilometre corridor that cuts across several countries bordering the desert: from Senegal and Mauritania in the West to Eritrea and Djibouti in East Africa.
What started as a tree-planting initiative in 2007 to halt the spread of the Sahara desert has evolved into a comprehensive rural development programme with a strong community engagement component where residents are paid to create the half-moons and manage the ecosystem. The initiative has been selected as one of the first 10 World Restoration Flagships of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, highlighting its potential to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
Over the past 10 years, 300,000 hectares has been reclaimed in Niger and another 18 million hectares has been restored across the 11 countries in the Sahel. While this is just a small fraction of the restoration goal of 100 million hectares by 2030 set by the African Union, it signals a promising approach to land restoration and food security.
But for the interventions to work as planned, a sustainable, integrated water management system and building local capacity is crucial, said Zakaria Abdou, the founder and Executive Secretary of the West Africa Holistic Integration (WAHI), a Christian non-profit that aims to “eradicate famine, and physical and spiritual poverty.”
“Furthermore, farmers need access to markets and finance to sell produce and invest in sustainable practices. Crop diversification, using improved drought-tolerant seeds, and integrating agroforestry can enhance resilience and productivity,” said Abdou in an interview with Christian Daily International.
In the end, said Abdou, a holistic approach that brings together farmers, NGOs, the government, and research institutions, is critical for sustainable agriculture in the Sahel.
“By improving living conditions and providing sustainable livelihoods, these initiatives have contributed to reducing forced migration due to land degradation and desertification. It goes to show how concerted efforts and integrated approaches can make a real difference in combating desertification,” said Abdou.
