Achieving food and nutritional security through agroforestry: a case of Faidherbia albida in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Faidherbia albida is an ideal agroforestry tree commonly intercropped with annual crops like millet and groundnuts in the dry and densely populated areas of Africa. With its peculiar reverse phenology, it makes growth demands at a different time from that of crops. In addition, it deposits great amount of organic fertilizer on food crops. Leaves entering soils are comparable to fertilization of almost 50 t·ha −1 ·year −1 of manure in dense stands of 50 large trees per ha. These nutrients help maximize agricultural production and reduce the need for a fallow period on poorer soils. Research has shown that millet grown under F. albida yielded 2.5 and 3.4 fold increases in grain and protein, respectively. Animals eat pods which contain mean amounts of crude protein of 20.63% and carbohydrate of 40.1% in seeds. Moreover, the continued existence of F. albida in agroforestry parklands as in Ethiopia and Mali signifi es the success of traditional conservation measures. Modern scientists have also developed much interest in the role of agroforestry in maintaining long-term biological balance between agriculture and livestock production systems. To ensure food security, which still remains a major challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, and concurrently minimize environmental degradation, promotion of agroforestry that specifi cally involves indigenous trees is crucial. We discuss the prospective role of F. albida in alleviating poverty while simultaneously protecting the environment from factors associated with, for example, deforestation and loss of biodiversity. The overall aim is to promote wide-scale adoption of F. albida as a valuable tree crop in farming systems, particularly in those areas where it remains unexploited.

Sustainable intensification of smallholder farming systems in Ethiopia : what roles can scattered trees play?

“…Major and purposeful action at national level, such as the plan by the government of Ethiopia to incorporate 100 million F. albida trees into smallholder farming systems (Mekonnen et al, 2013) has a potential to achieve this. F. albida based systems could provide a triple benefit of climate change mitigation (Bayala et al, 2006), ecosystem based-adaptation (Matocha et al, 2012) and improved food security (Mokgolodi et al, 2011;.…”

“…'Parklands', where scattered mature trees occur as an integral part of crop and livestock production landscapes, are one of the oldest agroforestry systems in Africa. They generate ecosystem services such as provisioning and regulation values (Sinare and Gordon, 2015), valuable assets in the economy of local communities (Mokgolodi et al, 2011) and socio-cultural values (Wahl and Bland, 2013). Faidherbia trees improve soil fertility through ecological process of nitrogen fixation (Giller, 2001), nutrient recycling (Sileshi, 2016) and accumulated soil organic matter (Gelaw et al, 2015).…”

“…F. albida is well known for its positive impacts on the productivity of the crop beneath its crowns (Mokgolodi et al, 2011). A unique 'reverse phenology'i.e., shedding leaves during the crop growing season, which permits penetration of enough radiation for the understorey crops, has been understood to be one of the main reasons for the 'albida effect'.…”

“…A unique 'reverse phenology'i.e., shedding leaves during the crop growing season, which permits penetration of enough radiation for the understorey crops, has been understood to be one of the main reasons for the 'albida effect'. Although most of the 'albida effect' has been attributed to improved water and nutrient availability (Mokgolodi et al, 2011;Sileshi, 2016), Kho et al (2001) hinted that the lower temperature under the canopy of F. albida could play an important role.…”

“…It increases microbial biodiversity in the fragile ecosystems (Willems et al 2000), maintains overall agrobiodiversity (Khumalo et al 2012) and improves primary productivity in the drylands (Sileshi 2016 it could serve as a keystone species (Manning, Fischer & Lindenmayer 2006). Sileshi (2016) found that the presence of F. albida trees tended to increase cropping systems diversity and crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), improving food security in the region (Mokgolodi et al 2011).…”