Addressing land degradation to achieve food and nutrition security

Land degradation threatens the livelihoods and the food and nutrition security of the poorest, most vulnerable smallholder farmers and pastoralists. As a result, migration is accelerating, with an estimated 60 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa at risk of being displaced by desertification and land degradation by 2050.

Restoration of degraded land can be a key pathway to achieving food security and reducing poverty for some of the most vulnerable people living in Africa’s drylands. Landscape restoration is a process that aims to restore ecosystem functions and enhance human wellbeing. Restoration options need to be tailored according to biophysical and socio-economic conditions.

Land restoration interventions in agricultural landscapes

Land restoration and avoiding further degradation can be a key pathway to achieving food security and exiting poverty for some of the most vulnerable people living in drylands. Key to the restoration of degraded land is sustainable soil management locally appropriate agricultural practices

CIFOR-ICRAF editorial