Agriculture matters. It’s the biggest employer in Sub-Saharan Africa, and a more effective way to lift people out of poverty is yet to emerge. But amongst economic sectors, agriculture is the most significant water user and the biggest driver of deforestation.
As natural forests give way for agriculture and other types of development, the Earth loses much of its biodiversity.
Inevitably, it is left vulnerable to climate change, desertification, increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and a host of other problems.
In such scenarios where people’s livelihoods compete with nature itself, the benefits that trees provide can be best sustained by integrating their growth into agriculturally-productive landscapes. Agroforestry – which entails growing trees among or around food crops – is a proven method for farmers to grow more diverse, productive, and profitable crops while protecting the environment by reducing farmers’ reliance on forests. And as climate variability increases, farm families need assets to cope with shocks and make productive investments to uplift their living standards.
Agroforestry attempts to balance several needs: to grow a diverse, adequate supply of food both that can meet national and global demands and satisfy the needs of the producers themselves; to grow trees for food, timber, and other commercial purposes; and to protect the natural environment to ensure it continues to provide resources to meet the needs of present and future generations.
Along with its farm and landscape-level environmental benefits, tree-planting is the most important non-crop asset for livelihoods for the world’s rural poor. Over the last decade, One Acre Fund, the agricultural non-profit I work with, collaborated with more than 990,000 farmers in nine countries to plant 40 million trees.
These include fruit trees, such as avocado, which constitute an important part of farming in Rwanda. Our research has shown that a small Rwf1,800 investment in tree seedlings can return 40 times as much – about Rwf73,805 – after 10 years when a mature timber tree is harvested. But despite increased interest globally in forestry, most large-scale efforts often bypass smallholders to focus on commercial plantations.
Misinformation, lack of knowledge
While many farmers know how to farm with trees and understand the benefits of agroforestry, more often than not, intended interventions fail to account for the social context and values, limiting their adoption and uptake. For example, some farmers are reluctant to plant trees because they associate trees with forests, not agriculture. Others fear that trees will out-compete crops for nutrients when grown together. How then can we encourage agroforestry amongst farming communities to promote tree planting interventions within agriculture?
My organization is championing the planting of one billion trees in farmlands across Sub-Saharan Africa. Using knowledge obtained through years of research, proven agroforestry systems, and practices, One Acre Fund is driving one of the biggest agroforestry efforts for smallholder farmers in six countries, where we aim to plant 250 million trees cumulatively by 2024 and one billion trees by 2030. In doing so, we will not only be responding to climatic needs but also project to generate more than $130.6 million in farmer revenue in 2024 alone.
In our experience, successful tree planting initiatives depend on the soil, farm context, and farmers’ goals. From the type of tree to plant, where to plant it, and attendant benefits, our tree projects are supported by rigorous research that ensures both farmers and the environment benefit. To ensure consistent results across the board, and to secure the benefits of trees for as many farmers as possible, we regularly partner with the government and the private sector in all our countries of operation.
Social norms and values
From our research, adoption requires consistent communication – drawing success stories that illustrate how others use agroforestry, and fostering personal communication between farmers to learn from one another. What is more, peer-to-peer influence can change attitudes towards agroforestry. When farmers see their neighbours’ success, they are more likely to adopt agroforestry. And with time, their perception of the values of trees in agriculture can change.
In the longer-term, even though the decision on what to grow is up to individual farmers, their choices are influenced by the decisions and beliefs of entities such as local authorities and leadership, and community-based organizations. These powerful local actors can play key roles in the adoption of agroforestry programs that partner with community institutions, like farmer groups, to significantly increase the success of agroforestry efforts.
Lastly, government support plays a vital role in facilitating the uptake of agroforestry knowledge and practice. This is especially true for the policy and institutional context within which agroforestry is practiced. Specifically, governments can help revise outdated texts in terms of forestry and environmental legislation, improve tree crop value chains, provide technical support for the diversification of farming practices, and stronger coordination and cross-sectoral integration between agriculture, environmental, rural development, and business initiatives.
The author is Chief of Staff and Director of Government Relations at One Acre Fund - Rwanda.