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Library Agroforestry: An Appropriate and Sustainable Response to a Changing Climate in Southern Africa?

Agroforestry: An Appropriate and Sustainable Response to a Changing Climate in Southern Africa?

Agroforestry: An Appropriate and Sustainable Response to a Changing Climate in Southern Africa?

Resource information

Date of publication
December 2019
Resource Language
ISBN / Resource ID
LP-midp001077

Agroforestry is often discussed as a strategy that can be used both for the adaptation to and the mitigation of climate change effects. The climate of southern Africa is predicted to be severely affected by such changes. With agriculture noted as the continent’s largest economic sector, issues such as food security and land degradation are in the forefront. In the light of such concerns we review the current literature to investigate if agroforestry systems (AFS) are a suitable response to the challenges besetting traditional agricultural caused by a changing climate. The benefits bestowed by AFS are multiple, offering ecosystem services, influence over crop production and positive impacts on rural livelihoods through provisioning and income generation. Nevertheless, knowledge gaps remain. We identify outstanding questions requiring further investigation such as the interplay between trees and crops and their combination, with a discussion of potential benefits. Furthermore, we identify deficiencies in the institutional and policy frameworks that underlie the adoption and stimulus of AFS in the southern African region. We uphold the concept that AFS remains an appropriate and sustainable response for an increased resilience against a changing climate in southern Africa for the benefit of livelihoods and multiple environmental values.

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Authors and Publishers

Author(s), editor(s), contributor(s)

Sheppard, Jonathan P.Bohn Reckziegel, RafaelBorrass, LarsChirwa, Paxie W.Cuaranhua, Claudio J.Hassler, Sibylle K.Hoffmeister, SvenjaKestel, FlorianMaier, RebekkaMälicke, MirkoMorhart, ChristopherNdlovu, Nicholas P.Veste, MaikFunk, RogerLang, FriederikeSeifert, Thomasdu Toit, BenKahle, Hans-Peter

Corporate Author(s)
Geographical focus