Opportunities and Challenges of Scaling up Agroforestry Practices in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review

Abstract

Agroforestry is land-use systems and technologies where woody perennials are deliberately used on equivalent land management units as crops and/or animals. Its systems combine tree growing with the assembly of different crops or animals. Hence, developing positive ecological and economic interactions between components, agroforestry systems aim to produce a variety of environmental, economic and social advantages to farming communities. It plays a major role in soil conservation and global climate change mitigation particularly due to its tree component. Trees control soil degradation through their roots and accumulate greenhouse emission (GHG) in their biomass. What is more, it conjointly helps in global climate change adaptation. It’s a long-time undeniable fact that despite our gift effort at global climate change mitigation (GHG reduction), there is an additional pressing ought to address the impact of global climate change (adaptation). Peoples ought to be acutely aware regarding the scope and advantages of agroforestry and that they ought to participate in the implementation and development of agroforestry within the country. Thus, this paper reviews different analysis findings on the opportunities and challenges for scaling up agroforestry practices. Therefore, the agroforestry system is economically and ecologically sound practices with an improvement of overall farm productivity, soil enrichment through litterfall, maintaining environmental services like international global climate change mitigation (carbon sequestration), phytoremediation, watershed protection and biodiversity conservation.

Challenges of Smallholder Farming in Ethiopia and Opportunities by Adopting Climate-Smart Agriculture

“…Agroforestry is a farming practice of cultivating trees in combination with crops and/or livestock. It can provide additional food, fuel woods, and various ecosystem advantages such as increased soil fertility and carbon sequestration, as well as less soil erosion and land degradation [3,[145][146][147]. Agroforestry allows smallholder farmers to produce various goods and services in an integrated manner to address a broader range of demands [148].…”

Agroforestry and Its Potential for Sustainable Land Management and Climate Action: A Review

“…Silvopastoral systems, which integrate tree and livestock production, are recognized for improving forage quality and animal welfare while enhancing biodiversity and landscape aesthetics [11]. Agrosilvicultural systems, on the other hand, combine crop production with tree cultivation, contributing to soil fertility through leaf litter and root decomposition, and providing additional income from timber or fruit sales [12]. Silvoarable systems incorporate both trees and crops on the same land, promoting biodiversity, and optimizing land use efficiency.…”

Assessments on the Impacts of Climate Change on Food Production, Nutrition, Quality, and Resource Use Efficiency: A Review

“…If this is the case, stressed-out existing woodlands become more susceptible to disease, pest infestation, and eventually fire (Clark, 1988). They will eventually replace the current forests with new forms of vegetation or forests that have a combination of species (Sedjo and Solomon 1989;Tamirat and Mekides, 2020). In high latitudes, a lack of summer warmth and a lack of water limit tree development, while in the middle latitudes, heat and a lack of water limit growth.…”

“…The biggest transitions, according to simulations, happen along the boundary between the boreal and cool temperate regions. Especially if higher CO2 and better plant water use efficiency do not result in the predicted improvements in tree growth and moisture-saving benefits (Tamirat and Mekides, 2020), some mid-latitude forests may perish. According to Sedjo and Solomon (1989), species in mountainous areas would migrate to higher altitudes as temperatures rose.…”