World Environment Day is June 5th and as the global community rallies around ecosystem restoration, biodiversity, and sustainable land use, it’s time to spotlight an often-overlooked environmental hero: the farmer.
Farmers, especially smallholder farmers in Africa, are already leading some of the most effective and sustainable environmental solutions. Yet, they are vastly underutilized in global strategies to restore ecosystems and mitigate climate change. Farmer-first initiatives, where local farmers lead climate adaptation and land restoration efforts, are proving to be among the most powerful ways to regenerate the environment from the ground up.
The Environmental Crisis Is a Farming Crisis
The impacts of environmental degradation are not theoretical for farmers. Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, degraded soils, and disappearing biodiversity are daily realities, especially for smallholder farmers who depend directly on healthy ecosystems to survive.
While conventional agriculture contributes to environmental decline, regenerative agriculture and agroforestry offer powerful solutions. These practices restore land, improve soil health, support biodiversity, and even capture atmospheric carbon while feeding communities.
Farmers are not just on the front lines of environmental change. They are at the center of environmental restoration.
The Opportunity in Africa: Farmer-Led Restoration at Scale
Land Restoration at Scale: Africa has over 600 million hectares of degraded land, an area nearly twice the size of India (World Resources Institute, 2020). Empowering farmers to restore this land using agroforestry and regenerative techniques could sequester carbon, boost food production, and revive ecosystems at landscape scale.
Agroforestry = Food Security + Environmental Action: Agroforestry, integrating trees into farming systems, has been shown to increase yields by up to 400% (ICRAF, 2022) while improving soil health and water retention. It is a nature-based solution that delivers both ecological and economic benefits.
Rural Employment and Green Growth: More than 60% of sub-Saharan Africa’s workforce is in agriculture (World Bank, 2021). Supporting sustainable agriculture creates green jobs, reduces poverty, and builds long term resilience across rural communities.
How Farmer-First Initiatives Restore Ecosystems and Strengthen Communities
1. Nature Based Solutions That Regenerate
Farmer first programs like the Forest Garden Approach from Trees for the Future focus on agroecology, reforestation, and soil regeneration. These systems:
- Restore degraded land
- Capture carbon naturally
- Improve biodiversity and water cycles
- Provide nutritious food and income
2. Local Knowledge, Long Term Success
Farmers know their land better than anyone. When equipped with the right tools and training, they create site specific solutions that last. Ground up programs that respect and prioritize local knowledge lead to more sustainable and impactful outcomes.
3. Holistic, Multi Issue Impact
Farmer-first initiatives address more than just the environment. They also tackle hunger, poverty, and inequality, creating ripple effects that strengthen communities and ecosystems alike.
The Forest Garden Approach: Restoration That Lasts
Developed by Trees for the Future, the Forest Garden Approach is a farmer-led solution that helps smallholders transition to regenerative farming. Participating farmers:
- Plant trees and crops that improve soil and water retention
Restore ecosystems and sequester carbon - Increase food production and income
Across sub-Saharan Africa, Forest Garden farmers are reversing desertification and building environmentally resilient futures.
Why Businesses and Governments Should Invest in Farmer Led Restoration
As environmental funding grows, we must go beyond short-term fixes like monoculture tree planting. Investing in agroforestry and regenerative agriculture programs that center farmers is the path forward.
“Farmer led restoration is one of the most cost effective, scalable tools we have for addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, and food insecurity” — Dr. Felix Ochieng, Environmental Policy Researcher
Supporting these programs means measurable environmental impact, economic opportunity, and food system resilience.
- For businesses, it is a way to meet climate targets with integrity
- For governments, it is a step toward environmental justice and sustainable development
- For individuals, it is an opportunity to engage in a movement creating change.
This World Environment Day, Let Farmers Lead
Farmer first initiatives are not just an option. They are a necessity.
They offer real, lasting solutions to some of the world’s most urgent environmental challenges: ecosystem collapse, biodiversity loss, climate change, hunger, and poverty.
This World Environment Day, invest in the farmers who are restoring the planet one tree, one seed, one community at a time. Give today.