Carbon Sequestration in Agroforestry Technologies as a Strategy for Climate Change Mitigation

Worldwide agroforestry has been recognized as a potential greenhouse gases mitigation strategy under Kyoto protocol. And this is due to its potential in carbon sequestration. There are several agroforestry technologies with different rate in carbon sequestration. In that respect carbon sequestration can depend on type of technology, climate, time since land use change and previous land use. Our knowledge in this topic from the tropical countries such as Tanzania is how ever very limited. To address this challenge this study was undertaken in Kilombero District where the local community are practicing various agroforestry technologies. The objective of this study was to understand the carbon sequestration in different trees species in agroforestry technologies and also to understand which agroforestry technology provide the greatest benefit in term of carbon sequestration. Ecological survey was conducted and a total of 90 plot engaged in different agroforestry technologies were randomly selected from three villages of different altitudinal range. Pivot table was used in analysis and allometric equation was used for computing biomass and carbon. The result shows that Mangifera indica contributed highest carbon over all the tree species encountered during ecological survey with 189.88 Mg C ha−1. Home garden, Mixed intercropping, Parkland and Boundary with 19 514.19 MgCha−1, 648.44MgCha−1,144.79 MgCha−1 and 139.29 Mg C ha−1 respectively were the agroforestry technology practiced in Kilombero. From the results Home garden contributed more to carbon sequestration and this study results can be used to inform practitioners and policy makers on the most effective agroforestry technologies for carbon sequestration since agroforestry technologies are expected to play important role as climate change mitigation strategy.

Determinants of farmers’ adoption of agroforestry technology in Ibarapa Area of Oyo State, Nigeria

This study examined the various forms of agroforestry technologies adopted by the farmers as well as assessed the factors influencing the adoption of agroforestry technologies among farmers in the study area. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the respondents from the study area. Both descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages as well as inferential statistics such as Logistic Regression model were used in the study. From the study, it was discovered that adopters of agroforestry technology accounts for 42.47%, while non-adopters accounted for 57.53% of the sampled respondents. The result further shows the different forms of agroforestry practices adopted by the farmers in the study area which includes boundary planting, multipurpose trees/shrubs, wind breaks and live fencing. The result of the analysis of the factors that influence the adoption of agroforestry technologies among farmers from the logistic regression analysis revealed that access to extension services, age, education, farming experience, farm size and gender were positive and significant factors in determining the adoption of agroforestry technologies among the farmers.

Factors Affecting Adaptation to Climate Change through Agroforestry in Kenya

The environmental effects of climate change have significantly decreased agricultural productivity. Agroforestry technologies have been applied as a solution to promote sustainable agricultural systems. This study evaluates the factors influencing the adoption of agroforestry technology in Kenya. A multistage sampling technique was employed to collect data from 239 households in West Pokot County, Kenya. A Probit model and K-means algorithm were used to analyze the factors affecting farmers’ agroforestry technology adoption decisions based on the sampled households’ socio-economic, demographic, and farm characteristics. The study found that the total yield for maize crop, farm size, extension frequency, off-farm income, access to training, access to credit, access to transport facilities, group membership, access to market, gender, distance to nearest trading center, and household education level had significant effects on the adoption of agroforestry technologies. The findings of this study are important in informing policy formulation and implementation that promotes agroforestry technologies adoption.

LOADING THE DICE IN FAVOUR OF THE FARMER: REDUCING THE RISK OF ADOPTING AGRONOMIC INNOVATIONS

SUMMARYAgricultural development projects frequently promote new crop production technologies for adoption at scale on the basis of research and pilot studies in a limited number of contexts. The performance of these production technologies is often variable and dependent on context. Using an example from the Agroforestry for Food Security Project in Malawi, that promoted agroforestry technologies for soil fertility enhancement, we explore the nature and implications of variation in performance across farmers. Mean effects of these technologies, measured by differences in maize yield between agroforestry and sole maize plots, were modest but positive. However, there was large variation in those differences, some explained by altitude, plot management and fertilizer use but with much unexplained. This represents risk to farmers. Those communicating with farmers need to be honest and clear about this risk. It can be reduced by explanation in terms of contextual factors. This should be an aim of research that can often be embedded in scaling up the promotion of agronomic innovations.

Global Increase in the Consumption of Lignocellulosic Biomass as Energy Source: Necessity for Sustained Optimisation of Agroforestry Technologies

Wood and other nonwood lignocellulosic materials are renewable natural resources useful for different applications based on end users' preference. Their use for generating energy, an application that has not been outmoded, has been noted to be increasing worldwide owing to multifarious reasons. Therefore, there has been the need for studies with results targeted at sustainable ways by which they can be sourced for this and other purposes, as this source of energy is currently still relevant particularly in the developing world. Agroforestry techniques that are based on realisable concepts acceptable to stakeholders have been suggested for this purpose. These age-long techniques are adopted for different purposes with incorporated components partly dependent on native intelligence, indigenous/traditional knowledge, and/or users' perspectives and expected outputs. Since wood and other lignocellulosic biomass can be obtained using these production techniques, optimising their potentials in this regard will be beneficial. This paper was therefore focused on the increasing trend in global wood fuel consumption and studies aimed at contributing to improvement of agroforestry systems as sustainable sources of wood fuel, a renewable source of energy.