09/17 NFINL: Fruit tree planting

Naturefriends planting fruit trees in the Landscape of the Year

In the past a core task of Naturefriends in Africa consisted of reforestation and planting projects. This holds also true with Senegalese Naturefriends, who have been planting trees in the public space for more than 30 years with seedlings from their own tree nursery. In recent years, Senegal's agriculture has suffered massively from the effects of climate change, and the yields have declined dramatically due to lack of or irregular rainfall. Inspired by experiences in The Gambia, Senegalese Naturefriends have been re-orientating their planting activity away from public areas, towards fruit trees in the family gardens ("concessions"). Thus, the villages are being offered prospects for an increase in family income and also for increased self-sufficiency with fresh or self-processed fruits. At present a project is being implemented with the Naturefriends local group Bodensee (“Lake Constance”, Germany), which supports village communities in several regions of Senegal in the cultivation of fruit trees. Read more.