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Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) is a simple and inexpensive practice for restoring vegetation cover on degraded land, unlike reforestation. Current knowledge on the socioeconomic factors that may influence its adoption is limited. The objective of this study is to analyze the socioeconomic determinants of FMNR adoption by communities. 197 households were surveyed. The probit model was used to identify the socioeconomic determinants of adoption. The results show that ethnicity, access to external support, receptivity to technological innovations, mode of land acquisition and the importance of production are determining factors in the adoption of FMNR. According to farmers, FMNR contributes to improving soil fertility and soil moisture conservation (21% and 17% of farmers, respectively). According to them, the FMNR improves the supply of wood (18 %) and non-timber forest products (13 %). The main constraints to the scaling up of this practice are, respectively, illegal logging (42%), animal roaming (29%), and the difficulties of using animal traction in a farm having many trees/shrubs (12 %). These results provide an overview of the considerations to be integrated for the success of FMNR as a strategy to strengthen the resilience of communities and ecosystems to climate disturbances.

International audience; While crop yields in Sub-Saharan Africa are low compared to most other parts of the world, weather-index insurance is often presented as a promising tool, which could help resource-poor farmers in developing countries to invest and adopt yield-enhancing technologies. Here, we test this hypothesis on two contrasting areas (in terms of rainfall scarcity) of the Senegalese groundnut basin through the use of a bio-economic farm model, coupling the crop growth model CELSIUS with the economic model ANDERS, both specifically designed for this purpose. We introduce a weather-index insurance whose index is currently being used for pilot projects in Senegal and West Africa. Results show that insurance leads to a welfare gain only for those farmers located in the driest area. These farmers respond to insurance mostly by increasing the amount of cow fattening, which leads to higher crop yields thanks to the larger production of manure. We also find that subsidizing insurance is not the best possible use of public funds: for a given level of public funding, reducing credit rates, subsidizing fertilizers, or just transferring cash as a lump-sum generally brings a higher expected utility to farmers and leads to a higher increase in grain production levels.

Background Up to now, efforts to help local communities out of the food-insecurity trap were guided by researcher (or other actors)-led decisions on technologies to be implemented by the communities. This approach has proved inefficient because of low adoption of the so-called improved technologies. This paper describes the strategic approaches to the development of a climate-smart village (CSV) model in the groundnut basin of Senegal. A CSV model is a participatory integrated approach using climate information, improved context-based technologies/practices aiming at reaching improved productivity (food and nutrition security), climate resilient people and ecosystem and climate mitigation. In this study, participatory vulnerability analysis, planning adaptation capacity and participatory communication for development were implemented, putting people affected by the impacts of climate change (CC) at the center of the approach. Four interdependent groups of activities/domains, namely—local and institutional knowledge, use of climate information services, development of climate-smart technology and local development plans, were covered. It was emphasized, how all this taken together could create improved livelihoods for women, men and vulnerable groups. Results The approach made it possible to involve local people in the decision-making process for the development of their adaptation capacity to CC. It also helped to set up an overall land management process by identifying and addressing environmental (sustainable resource management, ecosystem resilience) and socioeconomic (institutional organization, empowerment, poverty alleviation and food security) challenges. A monitoring survey revealed that farmers appreciate well this participatory approach compared to previous top-down approach in that the former allow them to own the process. Also determinant drivers of adoption of the technologies were identified. Conclusion Scaling this community development model in sites with similar climatic and socioeconomic conditions could help in contributing toward achieving food security in rural areas at wider scale because of better enthusiasm and engagement from rural farmers to pursue solution to their constraints taking into consideration constraints posed by climate and more need based and tailored advisory services.

Leptadenia hastata is the only bush that remains green during the dry season in the north-central part of Sahel in central Mali. The leaves are used as food especially by the black nomadic population. They are part of their ordinary diet, but especially important during droughts and in the lean season. They are furthermore considered by the population to be effective in a number of medical applications, such as treatment of malaria, diarrhoea and the closing and healing of the umbilical cord in newborns. Interestingly, L. hastata is also found to contain substances with estrogenic activity. They have a high content of beta-carotene and constitute a substantial complementary source of vitamin A. The antinutrient content is moderate to low., Leptadenia hastata est la seule plante demeurant couverte de feuillage au cours de la saison sèche dans la partie nord du Sahel située au centre du Mali. Les feuilles sont utilisées comme nourriture quotidienne, en particulier par la partie noire de la population de nomades et surtout pendant les périodes de sécheresse et de pénurie. Leptadenia hastata a aussi des usages médicinaux, entre autres pour le traitement du paludisme, de la diarrhée et pour le pansement du cordon ombilical des nouveau-nés. Leptadenia hastata contient des substances dont les propriétés sont similaires à celles des oestrogènes. Outre sa valeur alimentaire, sa teneur en beta-caroténoides en fait une source importante de vitamine A. Elle contient peu de substances non assimilables., Jacks Birgitta, Sall Moussa, Pettersson Anders. Leptadenia hastata - Ecology, use and nutritional value. In: Journal d'agriculture traditionnelle et de botanique appliquée, 37ᵉ année, bulletin n°2,1995. pp. 37-50.