This study examines agroforestry as a solution to land degradation in Tanzania, highlighting both its benefits for food production and the challenges hindering widespread adoption. Using an integrated assessment framework that combines MESMIS (a sustainability assessment tool) and ScalA (a scaling-up evaluation method), researchers assess the sustainability and barriers to agroforestry implementation in semi-arid regions. The study focuses on three key objectives: identifying agroforestry technologies adopted by smallholder farmers, evaluating farmers’ perceptions of sustainability across environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and pinpointing constraints to broader adoption. Findings indicate that farmers view four agroforestry techniques as the most sustainable: (i) tied ridge + tree intercropping, (ii) contour planting + tree intercropping, (iii) Chololo pits + tree intercropping, and (iv) tree intercropping alone. Despite positive perceptions, adoption is influenced by climate conditions, socio-economic factors, and institutional support. The study underscores that favorable perceptions alone do not guarantee widespread adoption, emphasizing the need to consider contextual influences. Researchers advocate for further testing and application of this framework in similar settings to provide holistic insights into agroecosystem sustainability.
Tag: smallholder
Using a choice experiment approach to assess production tradeoffs for developing the croton value chain in Kenya
Indigenous visions: painting the future in southwest China
Filling food harvest and nutrient ‘gaps’ in local diets through site specific food tree and crop portfolios
Enabling Small Holders to Produce Nutritious Food through Agroforestry in Odisha State- A Case Study
Developing integrated options and accelerating scaling up of agroforestry for improved food security and resilient livelihoods in Eastern Africa – Trees for Food Security – 2 (FST/2015/039 )
Crop vs. tree: Can agronomic management reduce trade-offs in tree-crop interactions?
Diversification and intensification of agricultural adaptation from global to local scales
Smart strategies for enhanced agricultural resilience and food security under a changing climate in sub-saharan Africa
Africa’s population, growing at a rate of 2.7 %, reached 1.1 billion as of mid-2015 and is projected to be 1.7 billion in 2030, 2.5 billion in 2050 and 4.4 billion in 2100. This population depends on agricultural outputs from smallholder farmers who cultivate small parcels of, mostly degraded, land and have no access to reliable irrigation, affordable inputs, financial credit services, output markets and agricultural information. Thus, food security remains a great concern with ~220 million people (23.2 %) having been unable to consume enough food to lead active and healthy lives in 2014-2016. This is an increase of ~44 million people from 1990-1992. Ensuring food security without compromising sustainability of land resources under a rapidly growing population and changing climate is among the major challenges of this era. In this chapter, we present climate-smart agriculture (CSA) as an approach that can be adopted to increase agricultural productivity and incomes in environmentally and socially sustainable ways, enhance farmers’ resilience and mitigate climate change in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Specifically, we describe the array of proven practical techniques that underpin CSA, highlight soil as a limited resource and emphasise the importance of its sound management for present and future use. As none of the CSA technologies individually offers a magic bullet solution to the foregoing challenges and most of the promising technologies are founded on local knowledge, local and scientific knowledge must be integrated when choosing the most suitable climate-smart technologies and practices for any given agro-ecology. We thus recommend creating policies and multi-sectoral and multi-agency approaches which foster partnerships between governments, the private sector and non-governmental organisations to achieve CSA in SSA. © Springer International Publishing AG 2016.
Vulnerability of smallholder farmers in Lantapan, Bukidnon. Smart Tree-Invest Working Paper
The municipality of Lantapan, located within the Manupali watershed, has an agriculture-based economy, with almost 90% of the households relying on smallholding agriculture. This study used the capital-based approach to qualitatively assess the vulnerability of smallholder farming households in the three sub-watershed clusters in Lantapan, Bukidnon to climate-related shocks. Following the IPCC framework of vulnerability, which assesses exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity this study explored the different variables that contribute to vulnerability using a mix of quantitative and participatory data gathering techniques. Overall, the descriptive analysis shows that the smallholder households in the Tugasan sub-watershed are the most vulnerable to climate-related shocks among the three clusters. More than environment or social factors, poverty seems to contribute most to the Tugasan cluster’s vulnerability, as the households come considerably behind other clusters in terms of financial and physical assets. The farming practices of Tugasan farmers may also contribute to their vulnerability. For example, practices such as monocropping and not planting trees on their farms make them more susceptible to climate impacts. Based on these results, interventions to help reduce smallholders’ vulnerability to climate shocks should focus on livelihood activities and farming practices, such as agroforestry, that are more climate resilient and can help provide both financial and environmental benefits.