Homegarden, a type of agroforestry system, is one of the earliest thriving traditional food systems reported. Studying the contribution of homegardens in the context of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is crucial when the COVID-19 pandemic has hindered the achievement of many of the crucial SDGs. In this review, we focused on 94 peer-reviewed papers on homegardens from 2010 to 2021 to interrelate them with the corresponding targets and indicators of each SDG. The SDGs were classified into five categories, each focusing on a specific aspect: Category 1 (SDGs 1–5, poverty dimension), Category 2 (SDGs 6–9, development infrastructures), Category 3 (SDGs 10–12, sustainable production and consumption), Category 4 (SDGs 13–15, green infrastructures), and Category 5 (SDGs 16–17, green institutions). The distribution of the 94 papers analyzed was 92%, 23%, 33%, 51%, and 50% in each of the SDG categories, respectively. Category 1 and SDG 2 were found to be most realized in the homegarden literature. Important observations were found that highlight homegardens’ probable use in providing food security, nutritional needs, health and wellness, preservation of agrobiodiversity, and enduring sustainability. Homegardens appear to be an important strategy for attaining the SDGs and can be accomplished with proper planning, in addition to taking into consideration how the traditional societies have sustained it for long.
Supplementary Information
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13593-022-00781-9.
Designing sustainable food and agricultural systems is a pressing need at a time when we already are at the low end of achieving SDG 13 (Climate Action) of reducing carbon emissions. In such a scenario, this study has the potential to provide an insightful framework for policymakers. The major objective of this study is to estimate the carbon sequestration of tree crops, and soil analysis in homestead agroforestry systems (AFS), monocropped rubber plantations, and monocropped coconut plantations in the Alappuzha and Kollam districts of Kerala. The soil carbon parameters analyzed were soil organic carbon (SOC) and labile carbon. Other parameters, such as pH and electrical conductivity of soil, were also measured. The soil of rubber plantations had the least pH (4.8) and EC (79 µS/cm). We found the tree carbon sequestration of rubber trees in the plantations to be the highest (13.8 t C ha −1 year −1 ) followed by homestead AFS (2.68 t C ha −1 yr −1 ) and coconut tree plantation (2.08 ± 0.53 t C ha −1 year −1 ). The tree carbon sequestration potential was significantly (p = 0.003) influenced by the treatments. In soil, the SOC content was highest in the homestead AFS (2.48%). The labile carbon was also found to be higher in the homestead AFS (0.06%) but was least in rubber plantation (0.04%). These results indicate that even though the tree carbon sequestration of homestead AFS is lesser compared to that of large tree plantations such as rubber. The soil carbon pools and other physical and chemical properties of soil promote the valuable contribution that homestead can play in the sustainability of the environment and ensuring food security.
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