Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
many critical agroforestry practices for food security in eastern and southern Africa
involve strategic use of fertilizer trees to fix N for these annual cropping systems
(Akinnifesi et al. 2010). Agroforestry trees that will tolerate coppicing, such as
Gliricidia
,
Leucaena
(
Leucaena leucocephala
), and
Senna
(
Senna siamea
),
are
planted as intercrops in subhumid areas (Table 11.1, Figure 11.1). The advantages
TABLE 11.1
Examples of Common Agroforestry Practices in Eastern and Southern Africa
Food Crop-
Agroforestry
Combination
Agroforestry
Type
Function
Location (Biome) Rainfall
Reference
Intercrop
Gliricidia sepium
Soil fertility
Zomba, Malawi
(wetter
Zambezian miombo
woodland) 937 mm
Makumba
et al. 2006
Maize
Food
Agropastoral
parkland
Faidherbia albida
Wood
Adwa, Tigray, Ethiopia
(Afromontane vegetation
and east African evergreen
bushland)
a
740-900 mm
Hadgu et al.
2009
Eucalyptus
camaldulensis
Wood
Barley
Food
Improved
fallow
Tephrosia vogelli
Soil fertility
Zomba, Malawi (wetter
Zambezian miombo
woodland) 937 mm
Harawa et al.
2006
Sesbania sesban
Soil fertility
Maize
Food
Rotational
woodlot
A. crassicarpa
Wood
Tabora, Tanzania (drier
Zambezian miombo
woodland) 928 mm;
Shinyanga, Tanzania
(Somalia-Masai
Acacia
-
Commiphora
deciduous
bushland) 700 mm
Nyadzi et al.
2003
A. julifera
Wood
Maize
Food
A. nilotica
Wood
A. polyacantha
Wood
L. leucocephala
Soil fertility
Maize
Food
Fodder bank
Calliandra
calothyrsus
Dairy
fodder
Embu, Kenya (Afromontane
vegetation,
Acacia
wooded
grassland) 1200-1500 mm
Franzel et al.
2003
Pennisetum
purpureum
Erosion
control
Maize
Food
Coffee
Cash
Multistorey/
home garden
Enset
Food
Gedeo, Ethiopia
(Afromontane vegetation)
800-1200 mm
Negash et al.
2012
Coffee
Cash
Millettia ferruginea
Shade
Cordia africana
Shade
Contour
hedgerows
Calliandra
calothyrsus
Erosion
barrier
Embu, Kenya (moderately
sloping land cleared from
Afromontane vegetation)
1200-1500 mm
Angima et al.
2002
Pennisetum
purpureum
Erosion
barrier
Maize
Food
a
Vegetation types from “Useful Tree Species for Africa” (
http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/our
