As the world’s population grows, so does the number of mouths to feed. Yet agriculture was, and remains, far more than any other human-made ecosystem, the main driver of deforestation. Today, movements around the world are mobilising to denounce harmful farming practices: in trying to feed people, producers are destroying our environmental heritage.
Here, in North and South Kivu and across the DRC, farmers give little thought to alternatives that protect trees, forests and other woody plants, which enrich the soil, support rainfall and improve harvests. Very few farmers today enthusiastically adopt modern agroforestry techniques, even though they offer real hope in the face of the environmental and production challenges communities face. Most stick to traditional and intensive farming practices which, unfortunately, harm the environment in the short, medium and especially the long term.
