A new web-based Agroforestry guidance tool
Imagine, for a moment, that you’re the leader of a farmers’ group or community-based organization in an African country and you want to introduce agroforestry as a way of improving local livelihoods or restoring degraded land. Where would you get your information? Your first port of call could be a new website, launched in 2016 by the EverGreen Agriculture Partnership, which comprises the World Agroforestry Centre, World Vision, Africa Forest Forum and the World Resources Institute.
“The Agroforestry Guidance Tool for Africa is aimed at anybody who wants to know more about agroforestry and the sort of practices that are currently found under different farming systems,” says Sid Mohan, who works in Strategic Planning at the World Agroforestry Centre. “It’s written in plain language so that it will appeal to anybody, from farmers to policymakers.” The tool also provides links to relevant publications, tools and methodologies on agroforestry.
Click on the website (http://worldagroforestry. org/agt/) and you get an overview of the 14 main farming systems in Africa, such as maize-mixed farming systems, agri-pastoral farming systems, root and tuber crop systems, irrigated systems and forest-based systems. The overview includes information on the croplands, yields and the biophysical conditions characteristic of these farming systems. The Agroforestry Guidance Tool for Africa identifies the agroforestry practices which can be found under each of the 14 farming systems, and provides detailed advice about the nature of each practice, the species involved, the biophysical requirements and relevant management practices, such as pruning and providing fertilizer.
A more in-depth section is devoted specifically to Rwanda. The Agroforestry Guidance Tool for Rwanda identifies six farming systems and five relevant agroforestry practices, based on research led by the World Agroforestry Centre’s country coordinator in Rwanda, Athanase Mukuralinda.
What makes the site unique, and takes it beyond similar tools, is the incorporation of a simple financial information calculator for key agroforestry practices in Rwanda. “Based on a combination of extensive market research, literature review and expert knowledge, the calculator was constructed to provide information about the cost of establishing different agroforestry practices and the financial benefits which might accrue after 15 years,” says Mohan. This means that farmers, NGOs and others have a clear idea about the profitability of specific agroforestry practices, and whether they are worth pursuing in financial terms. The EverGreen Agriculture team hope to build up a similar profile for other African countries over the coming years.
