ROME — A young woman scientist in Burkina Faso is researching the role of micro-organisms in fighting desertification in the Sahel Region, as part of a UN program to restore degraded land in Africa.

As part of FAO’s Action Against Desertification program, Barkissa Fofana, a young microbiologist from Burkina Faso, is studying to see whether microbes can help plants to grow in some of Africa’s most arid zones.

The 30-year-old Barkissa Fofana studies the relationship between acacia trees, and they way they interact with different fungi and bacteria, in the hope that it will help to explain how they resist drought.

This kind of research is an important way to build resilience against climate change, and make land in the Sahel green and productive.

Fofana’s work is part of Action Against Desertification (AAD), a program of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which has restored over 7,000 hectares in Burkina Faso. You can find out more about her projects, the impact of AAD, and the Great Green Wall initiative, here. — UN News