Story 11 Dec, 2025

MyFarmTrees: A powerful approach for incentivising farmer-led restoration is ready for expansion and scaling up

Over 200 farmers in Western Siaya County, Kenya, welcomed IUCN, Alliance Bioversity and partners of the MyFarmTrees project for a final knowledge-sharing workshop on November 27th. They were there to share their experiences and show their appreciation for the project, which supports community-led restoration of degraded lands in Kenya and Cameroon with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

The visit was also attended by the Kenyan Forest Service, the Cameroon Ministry of Environment and Conservation International.

The project piloted development of a mobile application enabling direct payments to community members for restoration work: including tree seed collection, seedling growth in nurseries, tree planting and follow on maintenance and care. In doing so, it helped to create a marketplace for local restoration work where before there was none, incentivising community members to start new businesses and earn income for restoration work alongside local benefits, while contributing to national and global biodiversity conservation and enhanced tree cover goals.

The payments to community members have made a real difference. Farmers described using the income to cover school fees for their children, home improvements and repairs, for creation and investment into other businesses including local shops, and more. Moreover, when mature, the trees will provide a number of benefits including fruit production, timber, shade, soil retention, climate mitigation and nutrient fixation when integrated into agroforestry systems.

An important focus of the project has been to provide support for using ecologically appropriate and genetically diverse tree species – principally native species. These trees provide habitats for local species including pollinators, insects and other animals. They are also more resistant to pests and climate change than non-native species. Information on what tree seeds and species to collect and plant is integrated into the MyFarmTrees application, which utilises blockchain to create a transparent link of information throughout the value chain, supporting verification and quality control.

With 350,000+ trees planted, 4,000 direct beneficiaries and close to 4,000 hectares of land under restoration, the project has demonstrated real promise and excitement. IUCN and Alliance Bioversity are now seeking to expand and scale up this project to new locations and countries where it can make a positive difference. The World Bank has also recently contributed to supporting the underlying platform with a 3-year investment.

For more information, please contact Joshua Schneck, IUCN Portfolio Manager for Global Initiatives ([email protected]).