Farmers in Ethiopia and Rwanda are being encouraged to grow trees rather than remove them to improve food security.

In an interview on ABC Radio (Australia) Catherine Muthuri, a research scientist with the World Agroforestry Centre, explains how many African farmers cut down trees on their farms for firewood and timber, impacting on soil fertility.

The Centre’s ‘Trees for Food Security’ project is designed to help improve food security in African countries where millions of people face hunger and live below the poverty line.

Farmers are given advice on the types of trees to grow and how to look after them. These include shrubs that provide fodder for livestock and trees for firewood and to improve soil fertility. There are “a whole range of benefits from the trees,” says Muthuri.

While the project is currently focused on Ethiopia and Rwanda, there are plans to extend the appropriate agroforestry technologies to Uganda and Burundi.

Read the full story: Agroforestry project helping African farmers grow trees

Listen to the interview: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-10/agroforestry-project-helps-african-farmers-grow-more-trees/5143734