The man who stopped the desert : Yacouba Sawadogo

“For turning barren land into forest and demonstrating how farmers can regenerate their soil with innovative use of indigenous and local knowledge.”

Yacouba Sawadogo (1946-2023) was known as “the man who stopped the desert”. Starting around 1980 during a phase of severe drought, he successfully created an almost 40-hectare forest on formerly barren and abandoned land. Today, it has more than 60 species of trees and bushes and is arguably one of the most diverse forests planted and managed by a farmer in the Sahel.

Sawadogo’s remarkable success builds on experimenting with traditional planting pits for soil, water and biomass retention, called “zaï” in the local language. He continued innovating the technique over the years, increasing crop yields and successfully planting trees. Despite facing resistance from locals in the beginning – Sawadogo was called a “madman” and saw his forest set on fire – he never considered giving up. Over time, people came to admire his work.

Always eager to share his knowledge, Sawadogo trained thousands of visitors from the region and beyond, and empowered farmers to regenerate their land. As a result, tens of thousands of hectares of degraded land have been restored to productivity in Burkina Faso and Niger. Those who adopt Sawadogo’s techniques often become food secure, as zaï help to conserve rainwater and improve soil fertility. Trees planted together with the crops serve to enrich the soil, produce fodder for livestock and create business opportunities like beekeeping. This helps farmers adapt to climate change, reduce rural poverty and prevent local resource and water-related conflicts.