One hundred million Faidherbia albida trees will be established on smallholder cereal croplands across Ethiopia in the next three years with the aim of improving food production and livelihoods.

This government initiative was announced by the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi at the 2011 Climate Change Convention in Durban, South Africa.

An article from the Ethiopian Press Agency on Allafrica.com outlines the project and the practice of agroforestry as well as a plan to reforest fifteen million hectares of land, including the regeneration of tree cover on croplands.

Growing food crops under a canopy of trees in drought-prone regions is expected to provide shelter, nutrients, fodder for animals, firewood and other indirect benefits such as carbon sequestration.

Faidherbia albida occurs naturally in Ethiopia and acts as a fertilizer tree on farmland, capturing nitrogen from the air and transferring it the soil, improving crop productivity.

Read the full story: Ethiopia: Why Faidherbia Is Considered a Promising Tree?