Prior to the ‘Green Revolution’, the majority of subsistence farming anywhere in the world involved mixed species, usually including tree products [1]. Pressures towards higher efficiency drove modern agriculture into monocultures; the narrative of the green revolution in developing countries largely followed suit. But in the background, subsistence agroforestry systems have continued. As research has increasingly recognised the need to encompass ecosystems services other than food production, agroforestry has returned to the limelight. This special issue consolidates and celebrates a generation of research on the topic, with a focus on Africa. Agroforestry has emerged as a system for study in an era where research in rural systems has moved beyond a purely agronomic focus to embrace a more comprehensive view of social–ecological systems [2]. Hence the scope of this issue is far more than production and ecology. It recognises and explores examples of the intimate and interactive flow of influences between the human and environmental aspects of delivering livelihoods at both local and regional scales. Indeed, Africa faces major challenges of food, water and energy security, equity and poverty and environmental degradation. In the context of the livelihoods delivered by rural Africa to about 70% of its billion people, agroforestry can assist with all of these challenges [1 and 3].
Tag: fodder shrubs
Experimental evidence from a fodder shrub promotional effort among dairy farmers in Uganda
Previous research has demonstrated the potential of fodder tree technology (FTT) in bolstering milk yields and quality among small-scale dairy producers. Yet, FTT adoption at recommended levels is low. To suport producers overcome the adoption hurdle,, we conducted a randomised field experiment in Eastern Uganda to compare an innovative add-on intervention designed to address several behavioural-related FTT adoption barriers against a base training and seedling access intervention and a control. We observe a 19% greater increase in new FTT uptake among producers in our two intervention groups. However, we find that our add-on intervention failed to induce a differential effect.
Mind the adoption gap: Findings from a field experiment designed to scale up the availability of fodder shrub seedlings in Malawi
While dairy production has the potential to diversify smallholder agriculture and increase incomes, there are multiple constraints. One is the consistent provision of quality feed. High protein, leguminous fodder shrubs – also referred to as Fodder Tree Technology (FTT) – can help address this constraint, yet adoption levels are generally low. Implemented in Kenya and Malawi, the Shrubs for Change (S4C) project is employing several approaches to address this situation, including those informed by behavioral science. Given that approximately 500 shrubs per cow are needed to generate enough leaf matter to bolster milk production, promoting FTT at scale necessitates the production, distribution, and successful planting of large numbers of shrub seedlings. We implemented a field experiment in Malawi’s Southern Region in late 2021 to test the effectiveness of a social learning intervention intended to motivate dairy farmers to significantly scale up the production of FTT seedlings. This intervention involved meeting with dairy farmers in 39 randomly selected milk production zones to review the numbers of seedlings being produced vis-à-vis local demand, coupled with the development of action plans to address identified production gaps. While we find that this intervention increased the setting up of private nurseries by 10% (p < 0.05), it only increased overall seedling production by an average of 20 additional seedlings per dairy farmer (p > 0.1). We offer several explanations for this lower than expected and statistically insignificant result, which point to the need for iterative rounds of engagement with farmers when supporting them to take up FTT and other complex agronomic and sustainable land management innovations.