Institutional innovation in providing inputs and services is a central element for smallholder development. Agroforestry is an important income generating activity for millions of smallholders in the tropics, yet access to quality planting material-germplasm-of valuable tree species remains a major hurdle for improving farm productivity. We discuss requirements and possibilities for institutional innovation in developing more efficient delivery systems for tree germplasm as one aspect of improved input supply. We describe a simple model for delivery to farmers that identifies the major types of germplasm sources and discuss how this model can be used to identify relevant interventions to address bottlenecks in current systems. Our analysis leads to eight input supply configurations for smallholder agroforestry, typified by three major models. Lessons from the evolution of smallholder crop seed delivery systems can be applied to tree germplasm supply and indicate that a commercial, decentralised model holds most promise for sustainability. However, current emphasis in agroforestry on government and NGO models of delivery hinder the development of this approach. The application of prevailing classification approaches may also create a barrier to the development of appropriate supply systems that effectively service smallholders. An important implication of our analysis is that current actors in agroforestry input supply systems must redefine their roles in order for effective delivery to take place. We chose a case study from Kenya to illustrate our points.

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Most tree nurseries in Ethiopia overemphasize mass seedling production to the expense of seedling quality. The study aimed at evaluating nursery characteristics and tree seed procurement approaches, and how these influenced seedling quality in eight purposively selected Woredas of Oromia region. A total of 169 respondents from government and non-government organizations, farmer nursery owners and development/extension agents and officers were interviewed. Seed quality was explored through assessing the seed supply sources, the type of seed source and mother tree selection, and the practices in seed physiological quality assessments. Our results revealed that over half (62.5%) of the nurseries were government owned, while 20% were NGO-run nurseries and the remaining 17.5% were owned by farmers. Nine challenges constraining tree seedling production and leading to underperformance were identified, with the two major problems shared by all nursery types being lack of sufficient material and germplasm input and using seeds of low or unknown quality. Informal seed dealers were the main source of seeds (87.6%) for all the nursery types. On the other hand, nursery operator's own seed collection was from any free-standing trees either planted or retained as these sources were easily accessible. Seeds were, on average, collected from few mother trees, implying a high probability of sourcing seeds of narrow genetic diversity. Analysis of variance revealed statistically significant differences in seedling germination among the different seed procurement approaches within the same seed type. The seeds obtained from formal seed dealers had the highest germination rates in both hard-coated (87.3%) and soft-coated (79.7%) seeds. Our findings suggest that there is need to improve the seed procurement and the seedling supply system through quality assurance of the seeds used in seedling production.

Trade in medicinal tree products is rising in urban centres of the developing world, posing a threat to biodiversity. Cultivation of medicinal plants is a viable alternative source of raw materials, but evidence on whether traders are willing to source from farms is lacking. In this study, it was assumed that an increase in consumer awareness would stimulate the creation and growth of formal enterprises dealing in herbal medicine, through demand for medicinal products that are better packaged and labelled as compared to openly sold plant parts. The study sought to establish whether medicinal plant traders in Kenya sourced raw materials from smallholder farmers and whether there was potential to raise cultivation levels of medicinal trees by smallholders with increased formalisation of enterprises. The study interviewed 55 herbal medicine enterprises classified as herbal clinics, final product enterprises, and herbal semiprocessing enterprises in four major cities of Kenya and 200 farmers in an area close to Mt. Kenya, where trees are in abundance on the farms there. The enterprises in the final products category were more recent, were the fastest growing, and sourced raw materials mostly from farms through purchasing. Most farmers in our study were not aware of opportunities to sell medicinal plant products, but those who sold products from other tree categories responded by planting more of those trees. Policies that facilitate herbal enterprises to buy more from farmer groups as well as economic analysis of the best candidate medicinal tree species for cultivation as alternative crops are recommended.