Ghana learning land management practices to hold back degradation

An increase in the population in the West African country has put more pressure on agricultural lands resulting in the clearing of forests and woodlands, a development which is hastening desertification.

Subsistence farmers in Ghana are learning how to hold back the decline in the fertility of the smallholdings they cultivate while revitalizing their soils as desertification increasingly threatens their land and livelihoods.

An increase in the population in the West African country has put more pressure on agricultural lands resulting in the clearing of forests and woodlands, a development which is hastening desertification.

The Dorbor community which lives in central Ghana is finding the cultivation of the cereal crops and cashew nuts it traditionally farms increasingly challenging.

The Dorbor people are now being supported by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) to hold back land degradation by introducing sustainable land management practices, including soil fertility improvement techniques.