Beating Famine Sahel 2019 - Managing Lands for Prosperity, Resilience and Sustainability

World Vision, FAO and World Agroforestry held the 3rd Beating Famine Conference in Bamako, Mali from 26-28 February 2019. The conference brought together all the major players, stakeholders, practitioners and farmers to learn from each other and plot the course towards land restoration in the Sahel. With participants from over 15 countries, there was a rich tapestry of experiences, successes and lessons shared concerning land restoration.

The resounding conclusion: the Sahel has all it needs to beat famine. The power lies in its trees and managing them to restore the land to its once bountiful glory. On display were affordable yet effective methods such as Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration, a flagship programme of World Vision, which has restored hundreds of thousands of acres in sub-Saharan Africa. Initiatives such a FAO’s Great Green Wall, which takes the approach of not only tree management but planting, was also on display.

Together, the hope is start a movement across the Sahel and beyond, shying away from expensive, unsustainable land restoration projects and move towards using what the Earth has already given us; trees, to replenish the ecosystems of the region and beat famine.