Burkina Faso faces accelerated degradation of its natural resources as a result of the combined effects of natural and human-caused factors (inappropriate farming practices, bush fires, wood cutting, extension of agricultural areas, etc.). The province of Passoré, in the Nord Region of the
country, is in an arid zone and regularly experiences food insecurity. Climate change impacts are exacerbated by strong anthropogenic pressures, over exploitation of land, deforestation, rural exodus and poverty (Kaboré et al. 2019). The successive droughts of the 1970s and 1980s that affected the Sahelian countries left their mark on this province, including a negative impact on the soil. Rainfall — around 600 to 900 mm annually — is insufficient and irregular (Conseil régional du Nord 2018). Very low agricultural yields expose populations to the spectre of famine (INSD 2022).
Vegetation is severely degraded as a result of over-exploitation.

To address these problems, farmers have for many years been developing initiatives based on local knowledge and traditional practices. These include traditional agroforestry systems, known as agroforestry parklands (scattered trees in cropland) and water and soil conservation techniques such as stone barriers, zaï(pits to catch water and concentrate nutrients) and
half-moons. Many specialists advocate a return to these ancient agroforestry practices (e.g.,Torquebiau 2022), which are seen as a way of bridging the gap; i.e., reconciling agriculture and the environment. For a long time public agricultural policies considered trees an
obstacle to mechanization (Dupraz and Liagre 2011). But the adoption of these local practices requires high levels of conviction and motivation (Akrich et al. 2006). Some NGOs are involved in promoting these practices, as a project manager at Solidarité et Entraide Mutuelle au
Sahel (SEMUS), a local development association based in Yako, explains:
“In the project, we encourage agroforestry because it also helps to safeguard certain
species that were on the verge of extinction. It’s the only way to safeguard these species.
Otherwise, here in the village, we’re going to reach a point where our children won’t even
know what our forest species are, compared to the ancestral practice we used to know.”
Among these initiatives, which in part rehabilitate farmers’ knowledge of nature, is farmer managed natural regeneration, or FMNR. FMNR is an ancestral agroforestry practice that consists of protecting and tending spontaneous stump sprouts or natural seedlings of useful trees and shrubs in agricultural fields. This article analyzes the contribution of FMNR to the reestablishment
of agroforestry parklands and its socioeconomic impact. This qualitative study was carried out from March to June 2022 in the province of Passoré, in the communes of Gomponsom, Lâto-den and Yako. It is based on diverse information sources and on various criteria such as the size of the farm, the species found in the plots and their condition. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews, informal interviews and an ethnobotanical survey. These techniques were combined with direct observation to determine any discrepancies between discourse and practice. The study involved 68 people — 45 men and 23 women — of varying socio-
demographic characteristics. This article presents some of the perceptions that emerged from the empirical data and that are cited by local people (farmers) as reasons to adopt FMNR. Insecurity due to persistent attacks by armed terrorist groups, which foster a climate of terror and suspicion among the population towards actors from outside their environment, caused some people to refuse to take part in the study and often hindered the fieldwork.