the central plateau of bino fazo and the moradi and zinder regions of Niger are located in the zahil this is the semiarid land between the Zahara desert and the humid savanas the zahil drylands are one of the world's poorest regions characterized by a low precipitation of only 100 to 300 mm a year these areas have been plagued by droughts and food insecurity for centuries in the dry season in insufficient rainfall results in water scarcity low crop production and a Severe reduction in tree coverage this in turn causes a loss of plants and animal species a low biodiversity means crops are more susceptible to pest attacks in the rainy season intense bursts of precipitation can destroy and wash away soil newly planted seed and crops this is called desertification the land is degraded to an unusable State and people are forced to migrate to more prosperous areas furthermore the zahil has one of the highest rates of birth in the world the rapid population growth puts more strain on food production and leads to increasingly aggressive means of harvesting contributing to loss of soil fertility around 8 % of farmlands suffer from degradation local farmers in cooperation with NGS have come up with three solutions to restore degraded soils Farmers the growth of pits called Z piling the removed soil around the edges and filling it with organic matter the edges divert water and wind blown nutrients into the hole while the organic matter attracts termites who dig deep channels that loosen the soil to better absorb Nutri and water in early July the seeds are planted resulting in better crop yields and tree cover to harvest rain water and reduce soil erosion farmers use stones to form Contour BNS these rows of stones are precisely placed at the same elevation and act as a SI slowing down the flow of water and preventing minerals from being washed off the fields thirdly Farmers select trees that are especially useful to them for food production wood soil fertilization of fuel the tallest and straightest stems are selected and protected while unwanted stems and side branches are removed this is done regularly to avoid new Sprouts competing for resources with selected stems these three methods have not only stopped the advancement of desertification but they have successfully rehabilitated many thousands of hectars of soil and show a 40% increase in Crop Production already after the first year this helps meet the demands of a rapid growing population and in Niger Farmers could even export the Surplus more trees means more shade higher biodiversity a rise in water level and less wind erosion as a result agriculture became a stable source of income and people no longer needed to travel long distances for firewood and water these hours can now be spent to engage in economic activities and Family Care due to their success Simplicity and low cost these methods have spread rapidly through the countries passed from one farmer to the next through open fairs and taught through schools for