In Guinea, where rice is a basic food stuff, AFD has encouraged a clever approach to its cultivation that motivates farmersto protect rather than destroy the mangroves. Mangrove rice, or “bora male” is white and grown without the use of fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. Its unique properties derive from the typical mangrove ecosystem, which alternates between fresh and salt water and increases rice yields. During the dry season (a poor time to grow rice) local families earn money by producing sea salt.