This block consists of providing farmers with the skills and resources needed to protect their Forest Garden sites. Farmers achieve this by planting green walls – an enhanced version of a living fence that TREES has developed – around the perimeters of their sites. They then plant fast-growing fertilizer trees throughout their sites, often in alleys among their crops, to further stabilize their soils and enhance land fertility. We decide which species to grow based on which species adapt best to the agro-ecological zones where we work. We consult with the farmers themselves on what they want to grow, eat, and sell and our technicians advise farmers on the best way to plant and plant, iterating year-on-year changes that may enhance their garden, sales, and production. For example in drier climates like Senegal and Singida, Tanzania, we train farmers on growing various acacia species, which do not require much rain. We also promote nitrogen-fixing trees and crops, such as gliricidia species, acacia species, pigeon peas, and fruit trees that have a shorter maturing period (3-5) years. We also grow species based on what is culturally popular, nutritious, and marketable, like bananas, a staple food in Uganda.
Fully trained technicians
Farmer’s land needs to be prepared and designed for FG implementation
Integrated pest management is crucial in early stages of FGA as newly planted crops/trees can easily be hurt by diseases and pests
We hire project staff and meet with relevant stakeholders (government representatives, community leaders, and potential local and international partners/donors) to solicit their support and formalize each new FG project. With the help of stakeholders we identify interested farmer groups, lead farmers, and participants, and host orientation workshops prior to pursuing training and extension activities. We contact farmers by working with local government and community leaders and using rural radio to promote TREES and the FGA. This process takes 1-2 months as we vet farmers to ensure that they are truly willing to participate in the program. We prepare our Monitoring and Evaluation process which consistently collects data over the 4-year period. The M&E process consists of collecting information on our farmers through a baseline survey before they start the program, on metrics such as household dietary diversity and food insecurity and resilience (based off of USAID indices), along with measurements of the species diversity, and the number of trees per hectare on FG land. Lastly, we look into the number of food crops and marketable products our farmers grow. This information is followed up with an annual sample survey of farmers to see how these metrics change over the 4-year FGA.
Finding farmers who are able to commit to the four-year program
Finding appropriate stakeholders/funders
Ability to find appropriate staff members to serve as technicians to train farmers
We need to ensure that selection criteria includes a consultation with local leaders to be certain that farmers can dedicate secured, tenured (customary or statutory) land to the project
Securing private sector support for a joint vision for the conservation of protected forests
Engaging the private sector in support of the Collective Statement of Intent required a solid understanding of company risks (reputation, market, operational, legal) associated with sourcing coffee linked to deforestation. This required an understanding of existing private sector sustainability efforts and their challenges in order to identify innovative solutions. There is limited demand for traceable and certified coffee, and companies recognize that completing full ‘to source’ traceability assessments for individual supply chains is prohibitively expensive. Using a collective responsibility approach, as established by the 'Collective Statement of Intent', committed companies can work collaboratively and with other stakeholders to pool resources. This represents a cost-effective way for companies to reduce both their operational costs and reputational risk, while effectively and proactively tackling deforestation and supporting biodiversity conservation in BBSNP.
The significant momentum around sustainability and deforestation-free supply chains globally has been a key enabling factor. In addition, an initial campaign highlighted the links between coffee companies and deforestation. Many companies therefore have sustainability commitments and are aware of the need to address their sourcing risks. Securing the buy-in of companies at all supply chain stages has been critical to securing the buy in of others and to the notion of collective responsibility.
Securing the buy-in of all companies sourcing from the landscape is a challenge. The initiative is supported by companies representing 60% of the region's robusta market and efforts to secure support from the wider market are ongoing, including through supplier engagement by committed companies. A solid understanding of supply chain risks and existing sustainability efforts has been essential to securing private sector support and to ensuring clear recommendations on next steps for joint solutions. One-on-one company engagement, both at headquarter and local level, as well as smaller group discussions, have been critical to understanding the priorities and perspectives of different stakeholders while multi-stakeholder engagement has been essential to progress and building trust.
