Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration: An Approach to Afforestation in Central Tanzania

1. EXPERIENCE AND LESSON LEARNED: FARMER MANAGED NATURAL REGENERATION AN APPROPRIATE APPROACH TO AFFORESTATION IN SEMI ARID CENTRAL TANZANIA 2019 GCCA Tanzania Internal Learning Event: Held in Arusha 28 and 29th March 2019 02/04/2019

2. Project location – Kikombo and Idifu wards – Dodoma Region of semi-arid central Tanzania

3. Introduction • Formerly, village land of Kikombo and Idifu wards were covered by forests with various types of trees. • As time went on large areas of trees were cut down for various human activities, including slash and burn in agriculture, firewood and charcoal burning. • This situation is common in Tanzania as the annual loss of forest area is 400,000 ha of forest cover per annum (TFS, 2013). • The farming community and leaders should take action to re-generate the forest through conventional tree planting and Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration

4. Forest with various types of natural trees Forest degradation – Charcoal Making, slash and burn

5. What is FMNR • Farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR) as applied in project area is an approach whereby farmer take care of the remaining tree/shrubs stumps in farmlands, homesteads, and pasturelands for some time. The tree stumps have the ability to sprout and eventually become trees.

6. How to do FMNR and Management • Protect the identified stumps from fire and livestock, • then reduce to three or four branches to reduce competition • then tighten stems together with a rope to make them straight and strong • Then every year a farmer can harvest one branch so as to allow the remaining stems to become healthy until a farmer gets one big tree

7. Lesson learned Success • Fast regeneration of natural trees – By 2018 there were 12,490 regenerated indigenous trees with the estimated area of ​​190 acres • Local indigenous trees regenerated and maintained by local farmer • Fuel wood from pruned tree branched is easily available to beneficiaries of FMNR • Community is getting forest products; building materials, fodder, fruits, wood, and medicine. • FMNR can best be accelerated to village community using local champion trained through Training of trainers

8. Farmer’s testimony • “I am very grateful for this knowledge and I am motivated enough to manage more trees because I am now getting firewood for cooking and salt distillation close to my door” said Miss Melina of Idifu village

9. Challenges • Dodoma City Council have taken some of the land area in Kikombo and Chololo where farmers had FMNR trees • Livestock sometimes destroy the FMNR trees – Communal grazing • Illegal harvesting of FMNR trees – in farms away from household • Low adoption due fear of trees to reduce crop production

10. Conclusion • Tree planting is mostly suitable to land close to households where management is easy where is difficult FMNR is the best option • To be more successful in FMNR, law enforcement to limit thieves and livestock should be strengthened by local government authorities • More sensitization on FMNR practices to many farmers is needed for greening semi areas