The Contribution of Traditional Agroforestry Systems and Challenges of Adoption by Smallholder Farmers in Ethiopia. A review

Abstract

Agroforestry is a system of land use that incorporates the use of trees with either crops, livestock, or both. In Ethiopia, traditional agroforestry systems such as home gardens, parkland, border planting, woodlots, coffee-based, enset-based, and fruit-based systems have been used. Therefore, the goal of this review study was to gather, arrange, and analyse traditional agroforestry systems’ social, economic, and environmental contributions as well as the factors influencing their uptake. In Ethiopia, traditional agroforestry systems enhanced biodiversity and improved the livelihood of the society by providing cash income, fuelwood, pole, timber, fencing, indigenous medicines and food. Additionally, they increase soil fertility and restore biomass carbon in the range of 12 to 228 Mg ha⁻1. Despite their importance, a variety of factors have prevented farmers from implementing these agroforestry techniques. They include the uncertainty of tenure, the availability of land, the age of the family’s leader, labour, gender, degree of education, access to training, and the availability of water. Therefore, it is important to encourage agroforestry practices in order to increase production, raise soil carbon stocks, and conserve biodiversity. This can be done through offering training, equitable land sharing, and institutional stability

Plant species composition and diversity in traditional agroforestry landscapes on Siberut Island, West Sumatra, Indonesia

“…To expand agroforestry systems, it is crucial to raise awareness, provide education, share experiences, improve market access, develop infrastructure, and enact supportive land use policies. These measures are vital for scaling up agroforestry practices and reaping their extensive benefits (Wondimenh 2023).…”

“…These time-tested systems blend specialized knowledge and skills, using trees as sources of products and environmental benefits within a sustainable rural production approach (Molla and Kewessa 2015). Recent scientific data increasingly supports the benefits associated with agroforestry, confirming its role in providing ecosystem services and economic benefits within multifunctional landscapes (Wondimenh 2023).…”

Assessing payment for ecosystem services to improve lake water quality using the InVEST model

“…Converting intensive agriculture into agroforestry requires conversion costs and compensation due to the loss of farmers' income (Paudel et al, 2022;Wondimenh, 2023). Consequently, compensation is needed for sacrificing land to support conservation measures.…”