FMNR: Achieving Scale Up
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This document discusses strategies for scaling up Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR). It provides examples of FMNR programs that have successfully scaled up and highlights factors that contributed to their success, such as making the methods and benefits highly visible and relevant to farmers, building on local knowledge and aspirations, training many farmers who can then train others, and establishing policies and markets to support wider adoption. The key is taking a bottom-up approach that inspires and empowers farmers while also engaging top-down government support.
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FMNR: Achieving Scale Up
- 2. “I visited 385 agricultural programs in 95 countries. Very few programs have scaled up. The FMNR story is unique”. Roland Bunch. International Agricultural Consultant.
- 3. “If you only focus on landscape restoration you will fail. If you focus on changing mindsets you will succeed.” Aba Hawi, Abreha Weatsbha, Tigray, Ethiopia.
- 4. “Thousands of projects have come through here but this one - there is no comparison, if we are the judges. We have nothing but our environment. Since we started working with FMNR we have already started seeing the benefits that we have not seen with any other project. The type of benefits we see pushes me sometimes to leave my home and just walk through my field to appreciate the trees and environment. When things get to where they need to be, we will see more yields and the path will be clear”. Female farmer, Senegal.
- 5. How big an impact do you want to have? • Farmers group level? • ADP level? • Catchment level? • Landscape level? • Regional level? • Country level? • International level? Dream/Pray!
- 6. Please write down your goal – how big an impact do you want to have?
- 7. 2010 2015 2013 2015 2013 2012 Tony’s goal: FMNR in 100 countries by 2020.
- 8. “You need to see cabbages in your head, before you see them in the ground.” Sanchez. Human Farm
- 9. Confronting wrong thinking. Eliaz Sanchez, confronted beliefs head on. He helped people to change their paradigm of themselves, their world and their God. They moved from negative defeatism to victory. He convinced peasant farmers that they were gifted people and that they could change their lot in life. “It is like a battle he says, over the hearts and minds of the people to drop ‘wrong thinking’ about themselves, their community, their farms and God and to adopt right thinking – that they are children of God, that working with others they can achieve much more than they can alone or against others, that their farms are capable of producing much much more than at present and that God cares for them and loves them and is close at hand. Sanchez says “you have to grow cabbages in your head before you can see them in the ground.”. I think that what he is getting at is, you have to believe that it is possible for it to actually happen. Unless people can dream, can see in their minds-eye, cabbages growing in their fields, it will be impossible for them to grow them. Human Farm.
- 10. Think of your favourite teacher. What was the chief characteristic which set him/her apart?
- 11. Factors of scale up 1.Visibility 2.Relevance to adopters – saleable products - Impact on soil fertility, yield & reliability of crops - Livestock survive and thrive
- 12. 3. Build on what people already know
- 13. Build on people’s aspirations. Look for and build up strong leaders. “We go to sleep at night dreaming about how to improve our land and our life. Help us to help Tigray’s dreams come true”. Aba Howi.
- 14. 4. Contextualize – use local language, idioms, ideas.. Beysatol Naba tintuug lebge tii
- 15. 5. Simple message e.g. East Sumba – two things “Stop burning + start pruning” .
- 17. The tree stumps never cease to excite me....... Stumps were not quite visible where we began. When we got to a typical tree stump I could not resist my excitement. Apparently the group noticed my radiant face and asked for the reason. I explained the secret of FMNR- to release the underground forest to come to the surface. A lady remarked, “Ahaa! Is that what we should be looking for, and I was doing a horrible thing to burn tree stumps in my farm so that later I could dig them out for firewood.” We were standing in her farm. From then on we were like game hunters, chasing living stumps. Bishop Simon Chiwanga, Tanzania.
- 18. 7. Teach as many people as possible: Win the hearts and minds of a critical mass of people.
- 19. 8. Achieve a multiplier effect a) Use demonstration sites, pilot areas, model farmers b) Facilitate exchange visits c) Train farmer trainers (Farmer to Farmer)
- 20. American dust bowl experience: “We kept thinking that tomorrow things would change. You didn’t try something different but you just tried it harder, the same thing that didn’t work.” Let’s work smarter – not harder.
- 21. Awareness Creation / Mobilization through workshops and conferences.
- 22. • Religious leaders • Traditional leaders • National/local Government • Government services (agriculture, forestry, Education) • Research Institutes / Universities • Other NGO’s • CBO’s, FBO’s, • Youth/Children, (schools, scouts, girl guides…) Women and men • Environment groups • Farmers and herders • Merchants • Media Engage all stakeholders.
- 23. “If our parents kept destroying the environment at the rate that they were, when we grow up, we would not be able to have children of our own, because we would not be able to feed them.” School boy, Senegal.
- 24. “This tree used to be my enemy. I burnt the stump every year to get rid of it. Since learning about FMNR it has become my friend, and I am so pained that I ever tried to destroy it.” Mr. Marimo Mbijima, Kongwa, Tanzania.
- 25. Many governments have a Top Down approach to tree and forest management.
- 27. Farmers quickly become the biggest promoters of FMNR – how can we foster this? Farmer to Farmer
- 28. + Top Down (Government / NGO) + Bottom Up (Community /individuals) + NGO’s + Research
- 29. Use mass media • Newspapers • Radio • Song • Drama • Stories
- 30. - Text messages - video
- 31. Set up FMNR networks -for strength in numbers, -mutual encouragement, -learning opportunities, -healthy rivalry -
- 32. Gov’t granted Legal Forest User Rights. Forest User Rights
- 33. 2. Cooperative formation. 4. FMNR training and management plan developed. 3. By-laws established.
- 34. Certified Wood Market established Base price for wood: farmer 33% profit – farmer 33% profit – social committee 33% profit – forestry service. Facilitate Market linkages
- 36. Do we need more policies Or More action-cies?
Editor's Notes
- FMNR is tried and proven. It is scalable and once introduced can continue to scale up without ongoing project input. You are not taking a gamble here – if you introduce it, and do it well, there is high likelihood that it will spread.
- What level impact do you see yourself having?
- Factors that make scale up easier – FMNR is highly visible – when 99% of farmers clear every tree and 1% do not, their farms stand out. Encourage FMNR along roadsides so that more people can see it. FMNR makes economic sense and therefore neighbours start copying neighbours. FMNR boosts crop yields and livestock production – you are not sacrificing livelihoods in order to save the environment. This is win win.
- Think of a simple message. What is the most pressing need in your country – align your FMNR messaging with that need. In Senegal, the project name ‘Beysatol’ (work the land) became a rallying cry to engage people in doing FMNR. People were despairing. Crop yields had been declining for years and they did not know what to do about it. In Ghana, Naba tintuug lebge tii (from small bushes big trees grow) was a traditional phrase, used as the local name for FMNR. People were already familiar with this term and this aided it in being taken up. It was an expression which gave hope. “don’t worry, from small beginnings big things happen”.
- In E. Sumba I gave a very simple message: stop burning and start pruning. Year by year there is less forest. In E. Sumba (Indonesia) now there remains only thin ribbons of forest left in the deep valleys (see satellite view). The governor of E. Sumba told me that his island had been forsaken by God, that it was the worst place on earth to live and that if it got any worse, they would all have to leave. As we travelled through the country side and looked closely in the course imperata grass we discovered the ‘underground forest’ there too. Within just a year of the first workshop communities are now practicing FMNR on 500 ha. of land with 100-200 trees / ha.
- All you really have to do is inspire people. In 20011 I spoke in Jordan and a young man from Kenya took copies of my presentation. He went back to the deforested island of Rusinga (Lake Victoria) and taught people how to practice FMNR without the backing of a project. People have immediately taken up the practice. I have never been to Rusinga. I may never get there. But because I inspired one person – FMNR is spreading there, and through his organization, they have included FMNR in all of their trainings across the country.
- Don’t bombard communities with too many innovations at once. Focus on introducing one main message to as many people as possible. There is safety in numbers and people are more likely to adopt a new practice if there are many others also adopting it.
- Once WV in Tigray and the authorities were ‘converted’ to FMNR there was no stopping them. They trained hundreds of staff and thousands of farmers. They had meetings, exchange visits, policy review.....
- The FMNR workshop was held in Mekele Tigray. (see written report for attendants and outcomes etc)
- Many governments have a top down approach to preserving forests. However, these rarely work as it is impossible to keep very poor people out of forests. Also, forests protected in this way rarely expand – they usually contract.
- FMNR spread in Niger to 5 million ha. in 20 years. It largely happened through word of mouth from farmer to farmer, with minimal NGO or government intervention. We simply sent our farmers and staff out to other regions of Niger and we welcomed visitors from any organization – government, church, NGO, individuals..
- The good news is you don’t have to achieve scale up alone (you can’t anyhow). There is no way that I could have reached more than 3 million farmers in Niger – farmers themselves did reach the other farmers though. Just simply empower farmers. For many professionals this is difficult. We are the experts. We have been to university. We have the knowledge. – we have to set this aside and trust and empower farmers to do the job.
- Imagine what would be possible today if we facilitated farmers to teach farmers, if we collaborated with researchers and universities and if we worked with governments to provide favourable policies and to teach these methods through their extension services? Why not spread FMNR 5 million hectares in 5 years?
- Use media – the more the better.
- In Niger, WV developed this simple video clip which can be sent to farmers by phone.
- One of our biggest mistakes is to try to bring about landscape change on our own – if you want to succeed – network.
- An important first step was for the government to grant legal user rights. This ensures communities that they will benefit from any work they do in the forest. This gives them the incentive and motivation needed to do the work without payment – for their own benefit.
- A training and forest management plan was developed and agreed to.
- Their tree work was so successful that wood markets sprung up where there was only sand before. They charge a membership fee and farmers are paid a guaranteed price for the wood. Profits over and above the guaranteed price are then divided up between the farmer, organizing committee and the forestry department.