Agroforestry, food and nutritional security

Abstract

Agroforestry supports food and nutritional security through: (1) the direct provision of tree foods such as fruits and leafy vegetables and by supporting staple crop production; (2) by raising farmers' incomes through the sale of tree products and surplus staples; (3) by providing fuels for cooking; and (4) by supporting various ecosystem services such as pollination that are essential for the production of some food plants. While challenges for agroforestry in supporting food and nutritional security include policy and market constraints and an underinvestment in research, strong opportunities exist to promote multifunctional, climate-smart agricultural methods involving trees. To better support food and nutritional security, developments in agroforestry policies are required to reform tree and land tenure for the benefit of small-scale farmers, to reform how smallholders obtain agroforestry inputs such as tree seed and seedlings, and to recognise agroforestry as an important investment option. Research should support tree domestication to improve the yields of tree foods, and seek to enhance the complementarity and stability of food production in smallholders' agroforestry systems.

Local Agroforestry Practices for Food and Nutrition Security of Smallholder Farm Households in Southwestern Ethiopia

“…For the former, its potential relies on its contribution to the strengthening of the five pillars of food and nutrition security (FNS): availability, access, utilization, stability, and sovereignty ( Figure 1). Examples in local contexts are: (i) the presence of perennial staple food species in the system, like Ensete ventricosum, Musa spp., Moringa stenopetala, or Manihot esculenta, which ensure the availability of food [6][7][8][9]; (ii) the presence of species that secure cash to farming households, which directly enhance their access to market-based foods, as is the case of Coffea arabica or Theobroma cacao [10,11]; (iii) the utilization of dimension often enhanced via a diversity of species that offer scarce nutrients, e.g., fruit, leaves, or nuts, as well as the availability of fuel for cooking [11,12]; (iv) an increase in the resilience to and reduction in household social-ecological vulnerability, by the diversity of constituting species and their interactions [5,10,11]; and (v) providing options and choices in the means to grow and/or purchase foods items according to the household's needs in all seasons [9,13,14]. Agroforestry practices (AFPs) vary in their composition, structure, and function, depending on the biophysical, ecological, social, economic, and cultural conditions under which they occur.…”

The Nutritional Contributions of Some Forest Edible Seeds to Food Security

“…In addition, its seed yield oil that is said to contain omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids. The leaves as well as young stems and roots are eaten as vegetables, and are high in protein, vitamin A and iron [18].…”

Comparative analysis of perennial and annualPhaseolusseed nutrient concentrations

“…One proposed mechanism for improving agriculture sustainability is agroforestry, an agricultural system that incorporates trees, and includes forest farming, alley cropping, silvopasture, riparian buffers, and windbreaks [5] . Agroforestry integrates agriculture and forestry with the goal of enhancing food production while simultaneously improving soil, water, and habitat for biodiversity [6], [7] . It is a form of ecological intensification, a process that harnesses ecological services to sustain production, support ecosystems, and minimize anthropogenic effects of agriculture [8] .…”

“…It is a form of ecological intensification, a process that harnesses ecological services to sustain production, support ecosystems, and minimize anthropogenic effects of agriculture [8] . As agroforestry research expands [7], [9] , attention is focusing in part on the role of herbaceous perennial crops to improve agriculture sustainability [10], [11] . Perennial plants with deep, robust root systems prevent erosion, sequester carbon, and absorb and retain more water [12], [13] ; they access and absorb minerals housed deep in the soil, incorporating them into the plant body [14] .…”

“…In considering the development of crops for agricultural systems such as agroforestry, attention is focusing on species that provide high nutritional content [7], [9] as well as ecological functionality. Mineral and amino acid concentrations of plant species are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors [17]- [28] .…”