January 15, 2014 Posted by Kate Langford

 The challenge of increasing food production in Africa to meet the needs of a growing population is immense, especially when this has to be achieved on soils that are already depleted of their fertility, amid changes in climate and in ways that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or perhaps even store carbon.

In a special issue of Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability due to be released in February 2014 to coincide with the 3^rd World Congress on Agroforestry in Delhi, India, scientists claim that agroforestry systems can help meet both mitigation and adaptation objectives while remaining relevant to the livelihoods of poor smallholder farmers in Africa.

The way forward, according to Cheikh Mbow, Senior Scientist on Climate Change and Development with the World Agroforestry and lead author of the article, is not through focusing on the climate change mitigation potential of agroforestry (i.e. improving carbon sequestration and reducing emissions) but on the ability of agroforestry to boost food production and provide climate adaptation benefits.

“There’s plenty of evidence of how agroforestry systems can help farmers build resilience to changes in climate and increase crop yields and incomes while at the same time storing carbon,” outlines Mbow.

The article provides an overview of the benefits provided to smallholder farmers from agroforestry, including assets and income such as timber, fuel wood, fruits for added nutrition, animal fodder and medicinal products.

“Farm profitability has been shown to increase through agroforestry where farming systems are diversified (with trees providing new products for sale or consumption) or improved (with trees protecting against wind and water erosion or providing organic fertilizer),” says Mbow.

Properly managed agroforestry systems can also play a crucial role in helping farmers adapt and build resilience to uncertain climates. Trees can provide a buffer against climatic extremes that impact crop growth. They can enhance understory growth and improve water use efficiency. Trees have also been shown to increase rainfall utilization compared to annual cropping systems. Trees are known to have a direct impact on local and regional rainfall patterns, so they also have considerable potential to alleviate drought in parts of Africa.

Please consult the full article under the following link: HERE