June 17 is World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.

Since 2000, the number and duration of droughts have increased by 29% compared to the previous two decades, and this is expected to continue to worsen. The African continent, and especially the Sahel region, is particularly affected by desertification (Drought in Numbers 2022, UNCCD).

The crisis is real, but at Hommes et Terre, we are convinced that it also brings along an opportunity to change things for the better. For us, the climate crisis is an opportunity to team up with rural communities and make a difference. Our partner villages are among the first to experience the worst consequences of the climate crisis. By joining our forces to restore the degraded and degrading ecosystems that surround them, we are not only trying to counteract this, but also to ensure that they are the ones that win the most from it. Today, we work with 203 partner villages in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal. By the end of this season, we will have restored more than 40.000 hectares of their degraded land, and this is just the beginning. We are not just their partner in the fight against desertification and drought. Most of all, we are their business partner, working together to develop their land and potential in a sustainable and equitable way.

On this World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, let’s not forget that it is not just about solving this crisis, but about doing so with maximum impact on the socio-economic well-being of rural communities.