The Role of Agroforestry in Food and Nutritional Security

Agroforestry for Food Security and Climate Change

WEBINAR 4: Recommendations to the International Conference on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition

4th March 2013

Ramni Jamnadass, Ian Dawson, Stepha McMullin, Katja Kehlenbeck and Frank Place World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)

• Agroforestry practiced by more than 1.2 billion people worldwide

• 560 m people live in farm landscapes > 10% tree cover

• Ubiquity of the products and services - lack of impact information

• Value of trees not acknowledged in rural development

Development challenges agroforestry addresses:

• Agricultural productivity of staple crops (soil fertility)

• Food and nutritional security

• Loss of biodiversity

• Anthropogenic climate change

• Energy needs

Burden of undernourishment

UNICEF-WHO-WB prevalence (%) of under 5’s stunting (2011 and projected 2025)

Region 2011 2025

Africa 36 32

Eastern 35 28

Western 36 28

Southern 31 34

Asia 27 17

South Central 36 23

South East 27 17

Latin America 13 8

Central America 19 12

South America 12 7

Developing countries 28 21

Developed countries 7 8

Global 26 20

Fruit consumption

Average daily consumption of fruits (FAOSTAT, 2004):

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

East Africa

Central Africa

Southern Africa

Western Africa

Asia (developing)

Eastern Europe

Latin America

N. America

EU

Fruit consumption (g/person * day)

WHO recommendation

Agroforestry systems for food and nutritional security

Four tree functions of importance to smallholders for promoting food and nutritional security:

1. Human foods (fruits, leaves, nuts, etc. for direct consumption)

2. Animal fodder (important for dairy, meat production, etc.)

3. Soil improvement (important to support staple crop yields)

4. Fuel which relates to the provision of charcoal, woodfuel, etc., for proper processing and cooking of food

Soil improvement: Trees and shrubs for increased crop production

In terms of planting of trees and crops, more than 160,000 Zambian farmers now grow food crops under Faidherbia trees. More than 200,000 farmers in Malawi have recently been testing tree-maize intercrop systems.

Maize yields in Malawi districts with and without intervention of the ‘Agroforestry Food Security Program’

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

Mzimba Dedza Thyolo Mulanje Salima

Mai

ze y

ield

(t/

ha)

AFSP beneficiary Non-beneficiary

Animal fodder: trees and shrubs for livestock products

Key approaches for achieving impact from research:

The uptake of fodder shrubs among East African smallholders

Species for dissemination

Calliandra calothyrsus, 1996 Leucaena trichandra, 1999

Chamaecytisus palmensis,

(Tree lucerne), 2005

Sesbania sesban,

1996 Morus alba, 2000

WHO recommended 141 kg

Kg/person/year

Projected per capita fruit (and vegetable) consumption to 2030

Human food from trees: Fruits

Developing nutrient sensitive value chains for fruits (indigenous & exotic species)

Production

What is available and how can production be improved?

Processing

How can nutrients be maintained during fruit processing?

Markets

How can smallholder (female) farmers have a greater role in the fruit value chain?

Consumption

How can fruit consumption be increased?

Nutritional value of fruits

Species Vit C Vit A Iron Calcium

Adansonia

digitata

150-500 0.03-0.06 1.7 360

Grewia

tenax

N.A. N.A. 7.4 610

Tamarindus

indica

3-9 0.01-0.06 0.7 260

Ziziphus

mauritiana

70-165 0.07 1.0 40

Mango 28 0.04 0.1 10

Orange 51 0.07 0.2 54

Sources: Freedman (1998) Famine foods. http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/FamineFoods; Fruits for the Future Series, ICUC; Fineli (http://www.fineli.fi/), etc.

Table 1: Nutrient content of selected fruits in mg per 100 g edible portion.

• Deficiency of iron and vitamins A and C in SSA Both indigenous and exotic fruits have a high nutritional value

Fruit tree portfolios

• Fruits available year-round, during the ‘hunger gap‘

0

20

40

60

80

100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Zambia

MalawiPercentage (%) of

households facing food

shortage Harvest season

Cropping season = ‘hunger gap‘

Tree species Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep

Avocado (exotic)

Citrus (exotic)

Parinari curatellifolia

Mango (exotic)

Uapaca kirkiana

Strychnos cocculoides

Syzygium cordatum

Annona senegalensis

Flacourtia indica

Vangueria infausta

Vitex doniana

Adansonia digitata

Ziziphus mauritiana

Domestication of indigenous fruits of Southern Africa

Syzgium cordatum

(water-berry)

Flacourtia indica (batoka plum, indian

plum)

Vitex doniana (black plum)

Azanza garkeana (african chewing

gum, wild hibiscus)

Annona senegalensis (Wild custard

apple)

ICRAF’s FT4NH approach to enhance food and nutrition security

1. Improve year-round fruit production in smallholder agroforestry systems

2. Enhance fruit consumption

3. Increase income generation from fruit production (incl. small-scale fruit processing)

4. Build capacities and empower decision making

Focus on most vulnerable – female smallholders and children

Use entry points such as RRCs (hubs for training, material transfer and demo plots) and agroforestry school projects (children are the future farmers and future consumers)

Synchronize efforts with global campaigns for improved N&H, ……….Beyond the 1000 days….. Fruit Trees on Future Farms

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Palm oil

Coffee (green)

Rubber (natural, dry)

Cocoa (beans)

Tea

Cashew nuts (shelled)

Avocados

Coconut (oil)

Mangoes, mangosteens, guavas

Papayas

Total USD 140 Billion

Trees for income generation Export trade - Range of tree crops

Contribution of NTFPs, including wild fruits, to household income in different

areas of the Nuba Mountains (El Tahir & Gebauer 2004).

Example from the Nuba Mountains, Kordofan, Sudan: 70-90% of total income of women in the Nuba Mountains generated from selling products from forest trees (mainly fruits)

0 20 40 60 80 100

Rashad

Gubeiha

Talodi

Dilling

0 20 40 60 80 100

Rashad

Gubeiha

Talodi

Dilling

Portion of the total household income (%)

Female + children Male

Income generation from indigenous fruits: High potential for improving livelihoods!

Public Private Partnerships Novella Africa : domestication of Allanblackia

Thank you!