Agroforestry
Agroforestry part 14: A potential natural climate solution
Agroforestry, which refers to the incorporation and maintenance of trees in agricultural landscapes, includes a diversity of indigenous, traditional and modern farming practices. The practice may include scattered trees in pastures or on farms, lines of trees forming fences around fields, or growing food underneath the canopy of a[...]
Agroforestry part 13: Regenerative agroforestry helps mitigate climate change
Earth as we know it is rapidly changing. A few years ago, it would have been regarded as wildly imaginative if you mentioned that droughts and floods are simultaneously devastating Africa. Yet climate change is a reality and the way food is produced influences it. As one researcher stated:[...]
Agroforestry in Kenya part 8.5: Agroforestry systems in arid and semi-arid lands
In the previous two articles we focused on agroforestry in humid highlands and humid lowlands. The arid and semi-arid areas (ASALs), however, cover the largest part or 80% of the total land in the country. These areas include the lower eastern counties, northeastern counties, part of the north, the[...]
Agroforestry in Kenya part 8.4: Agroforestry systems in humid lowlands
In the previous article we looked at the different agroforestry systems used in the humid highlands. In this issue, we consider the systems suitable for humid lowlands. The humid lowland zone covers areas with an altitude ranging between 900 and 1 800 m above sea level and an annual rainfall[...]
Agroforestry in Kenya 8:3: Agroforestry practices in different regions
Agroforestry, as we have learned from the two previous articles, is a dynamic, ecologically based, natural resource management system that, through the integration of trees in farm- and rangeland, diversifies and sustains smallholder production for increased social, economic, and environmental benefits. Agroforestry seeks to optimise the interaction between woody[...]