Research has shown that agroforestry in Africa offers more benefits to the farmer and the environment than forestry and agriculture.

Agroforestry is an agricultural system in which trees and shrubs are grown along with crops and livestock farming. The system integrates all these parts to produce food while sustainably managing the forests.

Although the practices may have changed, agroforestry has been in existence for thousands of years around the world as farmers combined the ecological functions of trees and other plants to provide themselves with a variety of goods and services.

It provides economic benefits through diverse food production while preserving water and enhancing the soil. It can also help reverse climate change caused by earth warming and protect biodiversity. Agroforestry can be as simple as livestock grazing among perennial trees and shrubs or crops. The system can vary depending on the climate, the culture of the people or the environment and can range from home gardens to large cropping systems.

Traditional farming practices are based on a symbiotic relationship between man and forest – agroforestry. (Source: QNET https://theexchange.africa/countries/tanzania/tanzania-qnets-greenlegacy-initiative-making-agroforestry-chic/)

Ecosystem services

People usually focus on only one benefit that a system can provide, whether crop yield, soil health, water supply or religious significance. This approach is not always good at balancing an ecosystem to enhance all the benefits.

Ecosystem services are a set of ecological functions that are essential to human welfare. These include provisioning,
regulating, supporting and cultural services, which are all beneficial to an ecosystem, as well as the people living in it and interacting with it.

Agroforestry is one way of building an ecosystem that provides all these services:

  • Provisioning services are real products obtained from ecosystems, such as food, fibre, water, energy and genetic resources.
  • Regulating services are obtained from processes such as climate and erosion regulation, as well as pollination.
  • Supporting services are necessary for the production of all ecosystem services, including photosynthesis, decomposition and soil formation.
  • Cultural services are non-material benefits that people obtain through knowledge systems, aesthetics, spiritual enrichment, and social relations.

These services are important to many low-income countries in Africa where a large proportion of the populations work in an agricultural sector that does not attract much interest or investment from either government or private investors.

Cultivating traditional food crops in an agroforestry system can help fight malnutrition. (Source: World Agroforestry https://leap4fnssa.eu/hh_source/world-agroforestryindigenous-forgotten-crops-canhelp-reverse-africas-malnutritionand-low-consumption-of/)

Food security amid climate change

Climate change has already resulted in a range of adverse impacts in Africa, including extreme heat and droughts, as well as devastating floods. These have an influence on the quality of the soil and agricultural production.

As a result of growing populations, farmers need to produce more crops on less land. By turning away from monoculture crops that need expensive inputs like fertilisers, herbicides and fossilfuel driven implements, farmers can save money. By adopting agroforestry systems, which require little to no additional input besides labour, farmers
can expand their land.

Agroforestry has the potential to moderate climate extremes and especially high temperatures. Tree canopies can create a better microclimate for crops and hardier ecosystem for better food production. The trees provide shade while their roots absorb water and retrieve nutrients from deeper in the soil, making it available to crops.

Increased ground cover plants add more organic matter to the soil, making it more fertile, preventing soil erosion and increasing water infiltration and retention.

Although the microclimate may help the farmer adapt to climate change, the better crop the farmer gains is what really helps him/her cope better with climate change. The effect of agroforestry on soil fertility leads to direct benefits such as fuel wood, timber, fruits and nuts, and fodder. Raising and stabilising a farm’s income reduces the farmer’s vulnerability to climate shocks.

Establishing agroforestry on land that has low tree cover at present has been identified as one of the most promising ways to raise food production without additional deforestation. The gains in resilience through food security are usually more important to farmers than the indirect effects of soil fertility or avoiding deforestation.

Research has shown that agroforestry reduced food insecurity during drought and floods in western Kenya by 25% due to increased income and an improved livelihood.

Agroforestry enhances soil fertility that enhances crop production. (Source: David Njagi https://
news.mongabay.com/2018/08/farmers-see-promise-and-profitfor-agroforestry-in-southernkenya/)

Reluctance to change

Research has proven that the agroforestry system significantly increases the carbon-sequestering ability compared
to intensive mono-cropping systems, as both the soil and the abundance of plants act as carbon sinks pulling carbon out of the air.

However, in Africa, climate change mitigation has not traditionally been something a farmer would consider, unless it leads to a short-term increase in income or welfare.

As a result, agroforestry is not always eagerly adopted, as some of the food production benefits of woody trees cannot be reaped immediately, but only in a few years’ time.

These farmers may be reluctant to sacrifice any part of their farm incomes to sequester carbon, and it is unlikely that it may become a major factor in the future. It may not be a viable option for smallholder farmers with limited resources, as they may not be willing or able to spare land for agroforestry, even though it may produce higher returns over time. Also, where land holdings are insecure, farmers may be reluctant to invest in a long-term project of establishing trees from which the next owner may benefit rather than themselves.

Conclusion

Agroforestry is a low-cost method of increasing food production over a longer period. More than one food or animal
crop provide a range of nutritional benefits for the whole community, especially the elderly and young children, who are vulnerable to poor nutrition.

Read more:

In the next issues we shall look at agroforestry systems in Africa, and the role women play in the success thereof.

Source references

Mbow, C. (2015) Agroforestry can form an effective, efficient and fair pathway to achieve food security and agricultural sustainability in Africa. Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR)
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/6594127-Mbow-Agroforestry%20can%20form%20an%20Effective%20Efficient%20and%20Fair%20pathway%20to%20Food%20SecuritySustainable%20agriculture.pdf#:~:text=Trees%20contribute%20to%20food%20security%20in%20Africa%20through,income%2C%20restoration%20and%20maintenance%20of%20biomass%20and%20diversity.

Mbow, C., Van Noodwijk, M., Luedeling, E., Neufeldt, H., Minang, P., Kowero, G. (2023) Agroforestry solutions to
address food security and climate change challenges in Africa. ScienceDirect
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2013.10.014
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877343513001449#bbib0010

Muthuri, C.W., Kuyah, S., Njenga, M., Kuria, A., Oborn, I., Van Noordwijk, M. (2023) Agroforestry’s contribution to
livelihoods and carbon sequestration in East Africa: A systematic review https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tfp.2023.100432
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266671932300064X

Olsen, O. (2021) Benefits of and Current Projects on Agroforestry in Africa. Storymaps https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/953e44b7e73d46caaf58cf2d1edaeb89