Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration

A community-led approach to naturally regenerate degraded landscapes and ecosystems.

A community-led approach to regenerate degraded landscapes and ecosystems.

Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) is a simple, scalable, sustainable land management approach that empowers farmers to stop and reverse land degradation through regrowing trees on farmlands, on grazing lands, and in degraded forests – without requiring any external inputs or expensive equipment. It is used to combat poverty and hunger amongst poor subsistence farmers by increasing food and timber production and resilience to climate extremes.

This regenerative practice holds the potential to reshape landscapes, fostering a renewed sense of optimism and paving the way for a greener, more prosperous future.

Free FMNR online training

FMNR is probably the largest positive environmental transformation in the Sahel and, perhaps, in all of Africa.

- Chris ReijSustainable Land Management specialist at the World Resources Institute

Miriam Kipsang, a lead farmer in Kocholwo village, Elgeyo Marakwet county, Kenya. After trying FMNR on her own land, she reached out to 60 other women. Photo: World Vision Australia

lead farmer in Kocholwo village placeholder — Miriam Kipsang, a lead farmer in Kocholwo village, Elgeyo Marakwet county, Kenya. After trying FMNR on her own land, she reached out to 60 other women. Photo: World Vision Australia

How Does FMNR Work?

Transforming Lives And Landscapes

FMNR uses Agroforestry, which is the deliberate integration of trees and shrubs into farming systems, but in FMNR, these trees do not need to be bought; the seeds are already there, just hidden within the soil.

FMNR involves the systematic regrowth and management of trees and shrubs from felled tree stumps, sprouting root systems or seeds.

These regrown trees and shrubs are then integrated into crops and grazing pastures, and help restore soil structure and fertility, inhibit erosion and soil moisture evaporation, rehabilitate springs and the water table, and increase biodiversity. Some tree species also impart nutrients such as nitrogen into the soil. After the trees are planted, farmers deliberately protect and manage them through the regeneration of roots and seeds that are already present in the soil. These regenerated trees have a greater chance at survival than transplanted seedlings.

FMNR is closely related to Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR), which involves protecting and managing natural regeneration, but whereas ANR’s main objective is to restore natural vegetation in degraded forests and rangelands, FMNR’s objective is to add trees to existing croplands.

The Three FMNR Principles

Beneath the soil on many farm landscapes lies a rich expanse of living tree stumps, tree roots, and tree seeds. Given a chance, by stopping burning (which destroys the regrowth), harvesting of ‘suckers’ (stems or re-growth from tree stumps and roots, or from sprouted seeds in the soil) and the continuous grazing by livestock, farmers can quickly and very cheaply regenerate a desirable density of useful, working trees on their farms.

Principle 1: Use existing resources

Often the tree is already there, but it is underground and we simply need to give it a chance to get established. i.e. FMNR does not have to depend on tree planting.

Principle 2: Prune and Thin

Selective pruning and thinning of this regrowth is beneficial for the growth and the form (shape) of the trees. Correct pruning seems to stimulate rapid growth and results in taller, straighter, more useful tree trunks being formed.

Principle 3: Engage the Community

The third principle is individual and community engagement. It requires agreement to a set of rules developed and agreed to by the stakeholders themselves; it is facilitated by enabling policies such as ‘the right for individuals and communities to benefit from their work’ through legal harvest of the trees and tree products (fruit, honey, medicines).

Prisca Mayende, Naigai, Bungoma County. Building environmental resilience: farmers adapting to climate change in Kenya, East Africa. Photo: Cheryl-Samantha Owen / Greenpeace Africa

Prisca Mayende, Naigai, Bungoma County placeholder — Prisca Mayende, Naigai, Bungoma County. Building environmental resilience: farmers adapting to climate change in Kenya, East Africa. Photo: Cheryl-Samantha Owen / Greenpeace Africa

FMNR Applications

Why is FMNR Successful?

Across Africa, poor land management exacerbates the problems caused by extreme rainfall patterns—drought and heavy rain. Deforestation and land degradation erode top soil, reduce soil fertility, increase air temperatures, and lead to other negative outcomes. These in turn amplify the impact of drought and flood cycles that contribute to crop failures and famine.

Using FMNR on farmland can double crop yields, provide building timber and firewood, fodder and shade for livestock, wild foods for nutrition and medication, and increased incomes and living standards for farming families and their communities. This leads to more complex, more productive, and more drought-resilient farming systems.

FMNR Manual

To learn all about FMNR, check out the FMNR Hub. The Food Security & Natural Resources team at World Vision Australia have also put together the most comprehensive FMNR manual currently available.

Download the manual

Comparing FMNR to other methods

Conventional approaches to reversing desertification, such as funding tree planting, rarely spread beyond the project boundary once external funding is withdrawn.

By comparison, FMNR is cheap, rapid, locally led and implemented, using local skills and resources – the poorest farmers can learn by observation and teach their neighbours.

Trials, long-running programs, and anecdotal data indicate that FMNR can at least double and often triple crop yields on low fertility soils. FMNR can restore degraded farmlands, pastures and forests by increasing the quantity and value of woody vegetation. A growing evidence base of research studies indicate that FMNR builds environmental, economic, and social capital helping some of the poorest farmers secure the “5 F’s” i.e. food, fertilizer, fuel, fibre, and fodder.

The 5 Fs

Food

Fertilizer

Fuel

Fibre

Fodder

In every direction there were no trees. But then these shrubs caught my eye, and I suddenly realized this wasn’t a shrub but a tree trying to regrow.

- Tony Rinaudothe Forest Maker

Tony Rinaudo prunes a thorny acacia tree, which helps transform useless-looking "desert bushes" into potential trees. (Supplied: Tony Rinaudo)

Tony Rinaudo prunes a thorny acacia tree placeholder — Tony Rinaudo prunes a thorny acacia tree, which helps transform useless-looking "desert bushes" into potential trees. (Supplied: Tony Rinaudo)

Story

THE FOREST MAKER

FMNR, a time-honored practice that spans centuries and regions, gained momentum as a movement in Niger Republic during the early 1980s. It was here that Tony Rinaudo, while attending to a flat tire on a dusty road, serendipitously discovered a small green shoot emerging from a tree stump. Astonishingly, this growth thrived without any human intervention, in stark contrast to the trees Rinaudo had tried planting in the parched farmlands nearby. This profound observation led Rinaudo to introduce the concept of FMNR to farmers as a transformative component of an agricultural development program.

Through this program, Rinaudo demonstrated to farmers the art of selecting the most suitable trees for regeneration. This pivotal step set in motion a remarkable "re-greening" movement that has rejuvenated a staggering 17.3 million acres (7 million hectares) of land, restoring vital tree cover in the process. FMNR's impact has been nothing short of revolutionary, not only in terms of revitalizing landscapes but also in empowering communities to reclaim their natural heritage.

Today, FMNR stands as a beacon of hope, illustrating how a simple yet powerful idea can galvanize change on a grand scale. By harnessing the regenerative potential of nature, FMNR not only heals the Earth but also ensures sustainable livelihoods for countless individuals worldwide.

The Transformative Impact of Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR)

In the Sahel region of Africa and around the world, FMNR revitalizes the land by improving soil structure, slowing erosion, retaining water, and increasing biodiversity at virtually no cost to the farmer. With measurable improvements in yields, income diversification, and environmental benefits, FMNR is an important tool for building improved and resilient livelihoods for smallholder farmers.

Since this formal approach to FMNR started to take root in the 1980s, World Vision has promoted it in 24 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. In the last 10 years alone, 2.5 million acres (1 million hectares) of land have been regenerated by World Vision alone, impacting more than 6 million people by improving crops and reducing hunger.

Stories from the ground

FMNR across the globe

FMNR in Niger

Since the middle of the 1980s smallholder millet-growing farmers in densely populated parts of Southern Niger (rainfall 400–600 mm/yr) have been protecting and managing trees and shrubs that regenerate spontaneously on their farmland. Where they once had 2 or 3 trees per hectare in the 1980s, they now have 20, 40, 60 trees per hectare or more.

Until 2004, the scale at which farmers had been protecting and managing natural regeneration on-farm was not known. Studies had been conducted in the region looking at long-term trends, but those studies limited themselves to a selected sample of villages. One of the findings was that farmers now had more on-farm trees.

FMNR in Malawi

Farming households in Malawi highly value trees within their farming systems. Farmers have encouraged the regeneration of trees in fields and around their households by protecting naturally regenerating indigenous seedlings, by planting trees and by leaving favoured trees in fields when woodlands are cleared prior to cultivation. They protect a wide variety of trees regenerating on their land.

FMNR is becoming widespread in Malawi. Recent mapping work has shown that more than a million farmers are practicing it throughout the country.

FMNR in India

The Prosopis cineraria tree is are an extremely valuable source of green and nutritious fodder for livestock in the semi-arid zones of Rajasthan, India. These trees were established through FMNR practices and now cover an estimated area of about 5 million hectares in the State of Rajasthan.