In the Lower Mekong region, contrasting agricultural practices across the borders of Lao PDR and Viet Nam encapsulate the nuanced challenges and achievements of REDD+ after fifteen years of implementation.   Let's start with the story of imaginary farmer families living on each side of a green border between Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) and Viet Nam. In Lao PDR, the farmer family is struggling with rising cost of living – inflation doubled with the plummeting value of the currency. The family does not need to think long before turning to the lowest hanging cash generating fruit - cassava. It takes next...

La réunion annuelle du Comité de pilotage du Projet « Transformation globale des forêts pour les populations et le climat : focus sur l’Afrique de l’Ouest » s'est tenue à Banjul les 7 et 8 mai 2024 dans le cadre des efforts de collaboration entre l'Organisation des Nations Unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture (FAO), l'Agence suédoise de coopération internationale au développement (Sida) et la Communauté Economique des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (CEDEAO) pour promouvoir les initiatives de conservation des forêts et la résilience climatique dans la sous-région. Cet événement revêt une importance capitale face aux défis croissants auxquels les forêts d'Afrique de l'Ouest sont...

N’Guessan Amlan Monique is a 64-year-old widow and mother of 4 children. She is a cocoa producer in Ebikro-N’Dakro in the South Comoé region. Her husband's death nearly 20 years ago left her emotionally empty and also resulted in financial difficulties that she has to face alone. As a widow, she now has the responsibility of feeding and taking care of her children. For the sixty-year-old, a day's work starts at 7:30 am and ends at 12:30 pm. Every day, she struggles by working for the future of her children through her 1-hectare cocoa plantation, even though she lacks the labor...

In Aboudé Kouassikro, in the Agnéby-Tiassa region, MORONOU Oba Philomène is a 45-year-old single mother. For over 10 years now, she has been traveling 10 kilometers a day to reach her cocoa plantation. Having dropped out of school after several failures in her final year of high school, she inherited a 3-hectares cocoa plot from her parents' death to take care of herself and her 3 children. However, the already aging and poorly maintained plantation did not really allow her to be self-sufficient and independent. Despite her 9 hours of hard work each day to meet the expenses of her children's...

In the village of Ebikro-N’Dakro in the South Comoé region, Sayouba Adama, married and father of six children, is a well-known cocoa producer for his hard work. Despite his efforts, the annual production from his 2 hectares is always low and does not provide a decent living for him and his family. With the advent of the project "Promoting cocoa production without deforestation to reduce emissions in Côte d'Ivoire" (PROMIRE) implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), he discovers agroforestry and applies it to his plantation. The initial results pleasantly surprise him. His production improves along...