Re-greening the Sahel

From an interview in 'New Scientist' with Chris Reij, African agricultural expert:

[D]uring later colonial times, the farmers [in Niger] were told to grow peanuts, and experts instructed them to remove all the trees from their fields: modern agriculture was about cultivating a single crop on a bare field. ...the other thing is that trees were considered state property - as they are in many African countries - so when nobody was looking the farmers just chopped them down and sold them as firewood.

But in fact the news is good: the Sahel has been re-greened. People have planted very large numbers of trees, which have now been incorporated into their farming system. So what changed?

All across Africa, people look after the things they own but ignore or destroy what is controlled by the state. The World Bank says good governance is essential for development but in this case the weakening of the state created opportunities for farmers.

This chimes with one or two of my previous posts: government as monopoly can stifle development if it doesn't know what it's doing; and that's supposing it's well meaning in the first place. I don't think this danger is in any way restricted to developing countries. By dictating how things shall be done, instead of the broad goals we need to achieve, government can inhibit the exploration and application of diverse, adaptive initiatives.