Old Technology Successfully Reduce

In an era dominated by headlines about cutting-edge green technology — solar panels, hydrogen fuel cells, and electric vehicles — there is a quietly compelling story being told by some of the most ancient agricultural practices on Earth. Across the Sahel, the Andes, and parts of South Asia, farmers are returning to traditional land management techniques that predate the industrial era by centuries, and finding that these old methods are among the most effective tools available for capturing carbon, retaining water, and restoring degraded land.

One of the most striking examples is ‘Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration’ (FMNR) — a practice rooted in traditional West African land management that involves protecting and carefully managing the natural regrowth of trees and shrubs on farmland, rather than clearing them. Pioneered in modern practice by Australian agronomist Tony Rinaudo and now spreading across more than 20 countries, FMNR allows trees to regenerate from their existing root systems — at far lower cost than planting new saplings — while simultaneously improving soil fertility, reducing erosion, and providing firewood and fodder. In Niger alone, FMNR has helped regenerate trees on approximately 5 million hectares of farmland, benefiting millions of farming households.

Similarly, ancient water harvesting techniques such as ‘zai pits’ — shallow planting holes filled with organic matter, designed to collect rainwater and concentrate nutrients around seeds — have been shown to increase crop yields in semi-arid areas by up to 50 per cent, with no manufactured inputs required. The technique originated in the Mossi Plateau of Burkina Faso and is thought to be hundreds of years old. Researchers who studied its reintroduction in degraded agricultural zones found that it was not only effective but transformative for food security in vulnerable communities.

The broader lesson is one that climate scientists and development economists are increasingly articulating: the solutions to environmental degradation are not always the most technologically sophisticated ones. Local and indigenous knowledge systems encode centuries of trial and error about how to live with difficult landscapes. As the pressure of climate change intensifies, there is growing recognition that integrating this knowledge with modern science — rather than replacing it — may be one of the most powerful strategies available. Sometimes, the old ways really do know best.