Restored wastelands do not just empower women in the Sahel region, but also mitigate desertification and climate change. It regreens the Sahel.
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Restored wastelands do not just empower women in the Sahel region, but also mitigate desertification and climate change. It regreens the Sahel.
by ICRISAT

Album — Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands: Reviving land and women’s livelihoods by ICRISAT Images

Led by the NGO Catholic Relief Service (CRS) and the CGIAR research institute ICRISAT, the PASAM-TAI project in Niger, tackles women’s poor land access and widespread land desertification through the Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands (BDL).
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Led by the NGO Catholic Relief Service (CRS) and the CGIAR research institute ICRISAT, the PASAM-TAI project in Niger, tackles women’s poor land access and widespread land desertification through the Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands (BDL).
by ICRISAT

Album — Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands: Reviving land and women’s livelihoods by ICRISAT Images

Women are denied the right to own cropland in the Sahel, but a village chief can allot degraded lands to women. The women form legally registered associations. They lease each of its members a plot of land.
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Women are denied the right to own cropland in the Sahel, but a village chief can allot degraded lands to women. The women form legally registered associations. They lease each of its members a plot of land.
by ICRISAT

Album — Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands: Reviving land and women’s livelihoods by ICRISAT Images

Traditional water harvesting technologies, application of organic residues and planting of high-value vegetables and drought-tolerant trees helps convert degraded crusted soils into productive lands.
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Traditional water harvesting technologies, application of organic residues and planting of high-value vegetables and drought-tolerant trees helps convert degraded crusted soils into productive lands.
by ICRISAT

Album — Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands: Reviving land and women’s livelihoods by ICRISAT Images

Women prepare these biodegraded lands for cultivation, by breaking down the surface crust. Micro-catchments, also called demi-lunes, are built to catch and store runoff rainwater.
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Women prepare these biodegraded lands for cultivation, by breaking down the surface crust. Micro-catchments, also called demi-lunes, are built to catch and store runoff rainwater.
by ICRISAT

Album — Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands: Reviving land and women’s livelihoods by ICRISAT Images

Workload for the first year is quite intense and women are helped by husbands to prepare the land.
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Workload for the first year is quite intense and women are helped by husbands to prepare the land.
by ICRISAT

Album — Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands: Reviving land and women’s livelihoods by ICRISAT Images

Every association member receives a small parcel of this land to produce vegetables and make an income. Plants like Pomme du Sahel, Moringa and stenopetala trees are intercropped with traditional vegetables like okra, tomatoes and leafy vegetables.
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Every association member receives a small parcel of this land to produce vegetables and make an income. Plants like Pomme du Sahel, Moringa and stenopetala trees are intercropped with traditional vegetables like okra, tomatoes and leafy vegetables.
by ICRISAT

Album — Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands: Reviving land and women’s livelihoods by ICRISAT Images

The BDL plots need to be protected from animals grazing in the farms They secure their farms with wire, straw, palm leaves, thorny bushes and similar material to protect their crops.
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The BDL plots need to be protected from animals grazing in the farms They secure their farms with wire, straw, palm leaves, thorny bushes and similar material to protect their crops.
by ICRISAT

Album — Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands: Reviving land and women’s livelihoods by ICRISAT Images

A Pomme du Sahel tree is planted in the open side of the demi-lunes to avoid water logging.
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A Pomme du Sahel tree is planted in the open side of the demi-lunes to avoid water logging.
by ICRISAT

Album — Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands: Reviving land and women’s livelihoods by ICRISAT Images

Moringa leaves are highly nutritious. In Niger, many young children suffer from acute nutritional deficiency and BDL can help provide vegetables and fruit to remote villages in the Sahel.
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Moringa leaves are highly nutritious. In Niger, many young children suffer from acute nutritional deficiency and BDL can help provide vegetables and fruit to remote villages in the Sahel.
by ICRISAT

Album — Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands: Reviving land and women’s livelihoods by ICRISAT Images

Women plant indigenous vegetables like okras in planting pits called zai holes. Leafy vegetables such as roselle, a type of Hibiscus, and sorel are also intercropped.
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Women plant indigenous vegetables like okras in planting pits called zai holes. Leafy vegetables such as roselle, a type of Hibiscus, and sorel are also intercropped.
by ICRISAT

Album — Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands: Reviving land and women’s livelihoods by ICRISAT Images

Women also produce tomatoes from reclaimed land. Cultivating high value vegetables improves the food security of the families and generates additional incomes.
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Women also produce tomatoes from reclaimed land. Cultivating high value vegetables improves the food security of the families and generates additional incomes.
by ICRISAT

Album — Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands: Reviving land and women’s livelihoods by ICRISAT Images

In eastern Niger, 241 hectares of degraded land was converted into productive agroforestry farmland through this BDL system.
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In eastern Niger, 241 hectares of degraded land was converted into productive agroforestry farmland through this BDL system.
by ICRISAT

Album — Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands: Reviving land and women’s livelihoods by ICRISAT Images

10,770 women were trained to restore degraded lands through the integrated BDL approach. A training manual has been designed in French, and local languages Hausa and Djerma.
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10,770 women were trained to restore degraded lands through the integrated BDL approach. A training manual has been designed in French, and local languages Hausa and Djerma.
by ICRISAT

Album — Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands: Reviving land and women’s livelihoods by ICRISAT Images

10,770 women were trained to restore degraded lands through the integrated BDL approach. A training manual has been designed in French, and local languages Hausa and Djerma.
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10,770 women were trained to restore degraded lands through the integrated BDL approach. A training manual has been designed in French, and local languages Hausa and Djerma.
by ICRISAT

Album — Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands: Reviving land and women’s livelihoods by ICRISAT Images

A 50% increase in agri-income (over non-BDL participants) was observed in a mid-term evaluation study conducted at the end of three years of the five-year project. Women are also empowered through better income and food, access to land and agricultural
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A 50% increase in agri-income (over non-BDL participants) was observed in a mid-term evaluation study conducted at the end of three years of the five-year project. Women are also empowered through better income and food, access to land and agricultural
by ICRISAT

Album — Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands: Reviving land and women’s livelihoods by ICRISAT Images

By providing nutritious fruits, leaves and vegetables, BDL improves family nutrition. With deep roots, Ziziphus Mauritania, commonly called ‘Apple of the Sahel’, uses stored water to produce nutritious fruit rich in vitamin C, iron, calcium, phosphorus
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By providing nutritious fruits, leaves and vegetables, BDL improves family nutrition. With deep roots, Ziziphus Mauritania, commonly called ‘Apple of the Sahel’, uses stored water to produce nutritious fruit rich in vitamin C, iron, calcium, phosphorus
by ICRISAT

Album — Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands: Reviving land and women’s livelihoods by ICRISAT Images

Women also dry their surplus of okras so that they cook it later to provide nutrient supplementation up to 5 months during the dry season.
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Women also dry their surplus of okras so that they cook it later to provide nutrient supplementation up to 5 months during the dry season.
by ICRISAT

Album — Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands: Reviving land and women’s livelihoods by ICRISAT Images

Post-harvest chores can entail a heavy work burden for women farmers. ICRISAT and partners are working towards the adoption of agri-technologies, like providing grinding mills for threshing grains to reduce their workload.
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Post-harvest chores can entail a heavy work burden for women farmers. ICRISAT and partners are working towards the adoption of agri-technologies, like providing grinding mills for threshing grains to reduce their workload.
by ICRISAT

Album — Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands: Reviving land and women’s livelihoods by ICRISAT Images

Post-harvest chores can entail a heavy work burden for women farmers. ICRISAT and partners are working towards the adoption of agri-technologies, like providing grinding mills for threshing grains to reduce their workload.
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Post-harvest chores can entail a heavy work burden for women farmers. ICRISAT and partners are working towards the adoption of agri-technologies, like providing grinding mills for threshing grains to reduce their workload.
by ICRISAT

Album — Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands: Reviving land and women’s livelihoods by ICRISAT Images

The PASAM-TAI project in Niger recognizes the invaluable contribution of rural women in enhancing agricultural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.
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The PASAM-TAI project in Niger recognizes the invaluable contribution of rural women in enhancing agricultural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.
by ICRISAT

Album — Bioreclamation of Degraded Lands: Reviving land and women’s livelihoods by ICRISAT Images