'When my grandparents settled here, it was covered by a thick forest.
You had to be armed to go out, otherwise wild animals would eat you.
But my ancestors chopped down the trees and the soil is now exhausted. Now all you can see is wide open space - it is everywhere.' (Farmer from
Upper Volta)
Deserts are on the march. West Africa's Sahel region is one of the worst affected. Desertification is a man-made problem caused by too many people pressing too hard on a fragile environment. But is there a man-made solution?
Hugh Prysor-Jones investigates.
Producer GAYNOR SHUTTE