As far as I'm concerned, when I compare the two situations - before and after the UNU-LRT programme - I can say that, before my participation in the programme, I was a "green unripe fruit" in the area of sustainable land management. The unripe fruit that I was, underwent its ripening process and became a "yellow, fully ripe fruit". My country is now enjoying the tasty flesh and juice of that ripe fruit and the seed from it can be sown to generate new plants/experts in the field of land restoration.
Moustapha Ibrahim, UNU-LRT fellow 2010, from Niger.