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Local institutions, actors and governance systems under farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR) in Northwestern Ghana

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Abstract

Government’s policies over the years to prevent land degradation have been to promote wide scale tree planting. In many cases, attempts at afforesting degraded areas have adopted orthodox western conservation approaches for regeneration that yielded low results because there has been limited involvement of local institutional actors and their structures. The aim of this paper is to investigate the local institutional actors and local level governance structures that provide the enabling environment for promoting a sustained natural regeneration. A mixed study design involving a sample size of 200 farmers in Lawra Municipality was used. Interviews, observation, structured questionnaires, and nine focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted across three communities. The structured questionnaires were analyzed descriptively using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22 while the interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. The results show that farmers’ motivation for practicing natural regeneration are attributed to improved crop productivity, provision of household livelihoods including food needs, improved soil fertility, fuel wood, fodder, and poles. Natural regeneration of trees were also found to resonate with traditional management practices in which farmers have maintained indigenous tree species alongside their food crops on their farms. The study recommends strict adherence to the local systems for self-governance and management, the institutionalization of cross district bye-laws on natural regeneration, and strengthening farmers’ capacity through learning and sharing of Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) experiences in communities with best practices with assistance from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.

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Acknowledgements

I wish to acknowledge the contribution of the Field Assistants, the Traditional Authorities and Heads of Households in Tanchara, Gbengbe and Pavuu-Kanpuo for their support in providing information for this work. I also wish to acknowledge the Center for Indigenous Knowledge and Organization Development (CIKOD) for providing diverse support to the end product of this work.

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  1. Samuel Ziem Bonye

    Present address: Department of Community Development, Simon Diedong University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, Wa, Ghana

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    Bonye, S.Z. Local institutions, actors and governance systems under farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR) in Northwestern Ghana. Agroforest Syst 98, 567–583 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-023-00930-3

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