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Home>Service> Awardees of Fervent Global Love of Lives Award> 24th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award 2021> The Agricultural Genius—Tony Rinaudo
The Agricultural Genius—Tony Rinaudo
Plant trees to save Earth’s future

“My dream may seem silly in some people’s eyes, but I am willing to give everything I got,” —Tony Rinaudo
 
        Resurrecting a forest
 
        Following a family of agricultural scientists, and graduating with a degree in agricultural sciences from the University of England, Tony Rinaudo came to one of the poorest countries in the world, Niger, in 1981 to fulfill a dream of making Africa green again.
        The project was extremely difficult due to the harsh local environment. When the project was about to fail, Rinaudo came up with the brilliant Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration technique that would make the barren land grow again. The core idea behind the technique is astonishingly simple: allow nature to take a breather and recover on its own.
        Rinaudo has planned over 200 million trees using this technique over the years. The improved environment not only made the ecosystem more sustainable, it also allowed the locals to earn more money. For his three decades of hard work, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award.
 
        Saving the planet
 
       Since an early age, Rinaudo has marveled at the power of nature and its ability to heal. However, he was also keenly aware of humanity’s destructive tendency towards nature, and people from the poorest regions suffer the most.
       Therefore, Rinaudo has instilled himself a dream since childhood that he would try to build harmony between nature and human society. His inspiration came when he visited his father’s friend house and saw two books that changed his life forever. One was I planted Trees, and the other was Sahara Conquest.
       Both books warned about that the environmental degradation humanity is capable of, but also offered solutions to the challenge. Young Rinaudo realized that there had been people with similar aspiration all along, and this bolstered his desire to follow through his dream even further.
       In 1980, Rinaudo and his family moved to Niger in Africa, his job was to stop the desertification that has been plaguing the local communities. The desertification was a combination of population growth, pest, natural disasters, and poor land use and planning.
       Rinaudo was a fulltime agricultural expert in the area. He tried introducing new species into the region to rejuvenate the forest, but the project failed due to lack of support from the locals.
       Two years later, Rinaudo discovered that the sand was too loose to plant any trees, but the brushes along the roads caught his attention. Upon close inspection, he found out that the brushes were actually trunks left by trees that were cut down.
       New sprouts were growing from the dead trunks. A new idea struck Rinaudo, there must be an underground forest under the sand, and he could revegetate the region by capitalizing on this new-found fact.
       In 1983, Rinaudo tested his new idea in 10 local villages. After the few months, the plan worked. But a natural disaster hindered their efforts again. In 1984, there was a huge shortage of food and thousands of villagers were displaced.
       There was a government food aid in place, and Rinaudo used donated money to buy these food and trade them for support for his reforestation program. The plan worked and it attracted over 50,000 people from 100 villages.
       They were willing to plan over 500,000 trees. Luckily, the plan was sustainable thanks to a good harvest in September 1984. However, when Rinaudo stopped trading away the food, the local villagers cut down 75 percent of the regrown trees.
       Only a quarter of the villagers remained supporters of the plan, because they realized that the new tress is more helpful in the long run by providing shade, fruits and nuts, firewood, and slowing down the environmental degradation process.
       The program in Niger restored some hope in Rinaudo, but he had yet to garner support from other countries.
 
       Building a forest
 
       In 1999, Rinaudo and his family returned to Australia. But in 2004, he returned, and to his surprise, he saw over 5 million hectares of barren wasteland were now green thanks to his technique. There were over 900 million trees that saw new life.
       He was thrilled, and was willing to share his technique with the rest of the world. In the end, the restoration technique allowed 4.5 million farmers to have a basic income, allowing women to spend less time picking firewood and children more time to study.
       In 2012, Rinaudo’s technique received international recognition. Ethiopia was also interested in his technique, and the government promised to save 15 million hectares of degraded wasteland.
       Rinaudo believed that no country cannot revegetate 5 million hectares within five years. The hope for a sustainable development is still strong, and Rinaudo will keep working hard to achieve this goal.
 
       The voice of love
 
       Lastly, Tony has shared some wisdom about love and life:
 
  1. Trust yourself: when Tony was young, he struggled with self-worth and self-appreciation. But he believed everyone is valuable to this world, and everyone has the unique ability to help others. Sometimes self-doubt can creep in, so only a few people can work hard and achieve greatness in life. But please remember: God does not make mistakes. Tony believes God loves us, and has plans for every single one of us. Throughout his life, Tony has learned to accept himself, to give himself in to God’s plan and. Even in face of difficulties, Tony marched on, and through this dedication, he has learned to contribute to the world.
 
  1. Face challenges head on: life is inevitably filled with various issues and difficulties. You can choose to avoid these problems, and let them run your life. Or you can overcome them and succeed. These issues will become the stepping stone for your future success, as they will sharpen your determination and patience.
 
  1. United we stand: a famous American writer once said: one is too small a number to achieve greatness. Collaborating with others and accepting their help is key to success. Teamwork can muster greater forces and make a bigger impact in the world. A lot of times, an ally can enter your life at a critical juncture to help you on your task, carry your load or give you guidance. Without help from others, Tony said he could never achieve what he did. At the same time, one must also be willing to help others. United we stand, and everybody can benefit.
 
  1. Humble and listen: God can speak to us in many ways, but the most important part is to open your heart, and listen to yourself. What does your gut tell you about the plan? Have you follow thorough that idea that keep popping up in your mind? We should also listen to others because we do not hold all the keys to success. We cannot see ourselves, nor can we see what other sees, so take time talking to others and hear their advice. Nature is also a great teacher, although it may not speak directly to us, it has its own way of communicating that we should be on the look out for.
 
  1. Read all your life: Be a life-long student. New knowledge can inspire us, read books about your profession, and read books for fun, relaxation, recovery, growth and inspirations.
 
  1. Think of others: it is important to walk in other people’s shoes once a while. Be mindful of other people’s needs and try to help them whenever possible. They will see the goodness in you, and the award will come in the future.