Update – Sustainable Agroforestry – Togo

NAIDD – Togo 

Environmental education and sustainable development project update

So far, the project helped achieve the establishment of four tree nurseries, training of local communities (members of nursery volunteers group) in running a tree nursery, to follow the growing process of the seedlings. A local school (teachers and pupils) benefit from our awareness raising activities on environmental issues such as: deforestations, bushfire, water management, agroforestry techniques, reforestation, soil quality improvement, strength of natural regeneration, and biodiversity, recycling of plastic water bags into seedling pots.

We do value how much interest it shows to the project from the work result on ground, and the motivation of the local communities, pupisl and teachers involved.   Project activities: Information and training meetings (contacts, awareness raising, decision making, action taking).  Vulgarisation (farmer’s school). Tree nursery set up. Bush fire management.  Research and experimentation.

During village meetings, different environmental topics such as bushfire, deforestation, reduction of rainy periods, soil degradation and other environmental issues are raised and discussed. The out coming solution proposed is the practice of agro-forestry techniques and reforestation, to help stopped soil degradation and improved sustainable communities’ development. Those meeting and training visits, help to identify other environmental problems such as toilet and rubbish management.

Farmers, male female cooperative which desire experienced agro-forestry techniques, and reforestation, join our candidates list to benefit from our collective or individual work visit. Farmers training goes in ground or field and the agro-forestry farms or private forest are result of farmer field work. Every demonstration farm have a technical identification. 

We trained a group of local community and local primary school in running a tree nursery, they follow all the process of growing agro-forestry and forestry trees, from seed to seedling, and finally we do teach them how to plant the tree in the farm.  To protect our seedling out of the tree nursery or from natural regeneration, we trained a group of local volunteers to run the fire management in the local communities, organise a village meeting to raise awareness around bush fires. 

An experimental centre in construction is supporting our workshops to promote agro-forestry techniques. At least 10 workshops were run on environmental issues and sustainable community development and practical farmer’s skills.   A group of over twenty people are trained in tree nursery running, we strengthen natural regeneration and biodiversity, create community dynamism by way of cooperative, successful campaign against bushfire.   

Our approach is free and voluntary participative “demarche participative volontaire”.  We have observed an increased interest and motivation from the local community and the local school to reverse the actual situation (deforestation, use of chemical fertiliser, pesticides, uncontrolled bush fire).  The adoption of agro-forestry is high, the demand for seedling has increases, and replication of agro-forestry technique has increases.  There is a need of follow up work, to identify and regulate the density of the trees in the farms.

Project details: The Sustainable Agroforestry Project teaches local people about practical agro forestry techniques at a tree nursery demonstration centre. The programme is managed on the ground by a local partner Nouvelle Approche International pour le Developpement Durable (NAIDD).

The new education centre includes a tree nursery that will serve a range of local farms and hamlets. The seedlings grown in this nursery will be used for demonstration of agroforestry best practice usage from April 2009 to local farmers and community members. They will demonstrate how agro forestry techniques can be used for a sustainable community.

The aim of this project is to create a centre with an experimental farm which demonstrates to rural people how agroforestry and traditional construction techniques that are both cheap and have a positive impact on the environment. The main objectives are to improve the quality of the soil and increase biodiversity; decrease pressure on the existing forest for firewood; and educate local farmers in agro forestry techniques.