Enabling Africa’s farmers to plant trees is the surest way to sustain strong economic growth and help the poorest join in the continent's prosperity, says Tony Simons, Director General of the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), in a new opinion piece.
The op-ed is published on NextBillion.net, a website that brings together business leaders, social entrepreneurs, NGOs, policy makers and academics to explore the connection between development and enterprise.
Simons hails the 500 million farmers who produce most of the food consumed in the developing world, adding that innovative tactics will allow them to better “steer developing economies in a well-fed and green direction.” By harnessing agroforestry’s benefits on a larger scale, African farmers can both sustain economic growth and help mitigate climate change by capturing carbon," he continues.
He highlights three innovative public-private partnerships in Africa that ICRAF is part of, which are bringing prosperity to African farmers and producing numerous, sustainable benefits for farmers and industry. These partnerships are built around the the oil-producing allanblackia tree; sustainable cocoa production; and better, more profitable dairy farming.
“From rubber to medicine to peaches, a goldmine grows on the branches of every tree,” states Simons.
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Read the full opinion article at:
NexThought Monday: How Africa’s prosperity can grow ... from trees
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