How Africa's Great Green Wall is back in the spotlight

A Nigerien farmer harvesting acacia tree pods at the Great Green Wall site in Simiri, about 100km north of Niamey. Photo: Boureima/AFP

After years of struggling with insufficient funds, efforts to build Africa's Great Green Wall – a massive defence line against desertification – have received a major boost.

The initiative concerning 11 countries on the rim of the world's biggest desert was first launched to great acclaim in 2005, only to battle a lack of cash.