The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations (UN) are at the heart of the global development agenda. This chapter examines the role of agroforestry research and development (RD but enterprise development and enhancement of tree-product marketing has been badly neglected. The products, processing, and marketing of tree products and services, through tree domestication and the commercialization of their products is a new frontier for agroforestry R&D. A major role for agroforestry also is emerging in the domain of environmental services. This entails the development of mechanisms to reward the rural poor for the environmental services such as watershed protection and carbon sequestration that they provide to society. Agroforestry R&D is contributing to virtually all of the MDGs. But recognition for that role must be won by ensuring that more developing countries have national agroforestry strategies, and that agroforestry is a recognized part of their programs to achieve the MDGs.

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Agroforestry and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals

http://humidtropics.cgiar.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2014/12/Sustainable-intensification-and-the-African-smallholder.pdf

Sustainable intensification and the African smallholder farmer

Low soil fertility is one of the most important biophysical constraints to increasing agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. Several renewable soil fertility replenishment (RSFR) technologies that are based on nutrient re-cycling principles have been developed in southern Africa. Some success stories have been recorded (e.g. nitrogen-fixing legumes), but the adoption of RSFR technologies has generally lagged behind scientific advances thereby reducing the potential impacts of the technologies. This paper describes the major RSFR technologies being promoted in the region, synthesizes available information regarding their adoption by farmers, and identifies the challenges, key lessons learnt and the way forward for up-scaling RSFR technologies in the region. The review indicated that farmer uptake of RSFR technologies depends on several factors that can be grouped into broad categories: technology-specific (e.g. soil type, management regime), household-specific (e.g. farmer perceptions, resource endowment, household size), policy and institutions context within which RSFR is disseminated (inputs and output prices, land tenure and property rights), and geo-spatial (performance of species across different bio-physical conditions, location of village). Adoption of RSFR technologies can be enhanced by targeting them to their biophysical and social niches, facilitating appropriate policy and institutional contexts for dissemination, understanding the broader context and dynamics of the adoption process, a paradigm shift in the approach to the dissemination of RSFR (e.g. expanding RSFR to high value crop systems, exploring synergy with inorganic fertilizer) and, targeted incentive systems that encourage farmers to take cognizance of natural resource implications when making agricultural production decisions.

Adoption of renewable soil fertility replenishment technologies in the southern African region: Lessons learnt and the way forward

Fodder trees for improving livestock productivity and smallholder livelihoods in Africa

A questionnaire survey of 408 households explored the role of socio-economic and cultural factors in rice (Oryza sativa L.) varietal diversity management on-farm in two contrasting eco-sites in Nepal. Multiple regression outputs suggest that number of parcels of land, livestock number, number of rice ecosystems, agro-ecology (altitude), and use of chemical fertilizer have a significant positive influence on landrace diversity on-farm, while membership in farmers’ groups linked to extension services has significant but negative influence on landrace diversity. Factors with significant positive influence on diversity of modern varieties on-farm were number of parcels of land and of rice ecosystems, access to irrigation, membership in farmers’ groups, and use of insecticide. Within communities, resource-endowed households maintain significantly higher varietal diversity on-farm than resource-poor households and play a significant role in conserving landraces that are vulnerable to genetic erosion and those with socio-cultural and market-preferred traits. Resource-poor households also contribute to local diversity conservation but at lower richness and area coverage levels than resource-endowed households. Households where a female had assumed the role of head of household due to death or migrant work of her husband had less diversity due to lower labor availability. Landraces with socio-cultural and market-preferred traits are few in number but have potential to be conserved on-farm.

Influence of socio-economic and cultural factors in rice varietal diversity management on-farm in Nepal

The objective of this study is twofold, to demonstrate (1) the effects of fodder shrubs on milk production and their value at the household and regional level and (2) the contribution of research by the World Agroforestry Centre toward strengthening the impact of fodder shrubs. The study is a synthesis of previous studies related to dissemination, adoption and impact combined with two new analyses, one quantitatively measuring the impact of the shrubs through econometric analysis and the other a qualitative analysis to better understand constraints on adoption and gender issues related to participation and control of benefits from fodder shrubs. Among the study findings are that fodder shrubs have been widely adopted in East Africa, by an estimated 205,000 smallholder dairy farmers by 2005. Women were active in planting shrubs, as monitoring found almost half of planters to be women. Several studies have confirmed that shrubs do have an impact on milk production. While feeding trials have found that 1 kilogram of calliandra increases milk production by 0.6–0.8 kilograms, a new survey of farmers’ perceptions in Kenya found the effect to be about half as large after controlling for the effects of breeds, season and other feeds. Whether the effect is the lower or higher estimate, the overall impact of the shrubs in terms of additional net income from milk is high, at US$19.7 million to $29.6 million in Kenya alone over the past 15 years.

The impact of fodder trees on milk production and income among smallholder dairy farmers in East Africa and the role of research

Constraints and options to enhancing production of high quality feeds in dairy production in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda

The Adoption and Dissemination of Fodder Shrubs in Central Kenya

Financial Analysis of Agroforestry Practices

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Steven Franzel

Papers

The impact of fodder trees on milk production and income among smallholder dairy farmers in East Africa and the role of research

Constraints and options to enhancing production of high quality feeds in dairy production in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda

The Adoption and Dissemination of Fodder Shrubs in Central Kenya

Financial Analysis of Agroforestry Practices

Farmer-to-farmer extension approach in Malawi: A survey of organizations using the approach