This document discusses options for integrating trees on farms in Malawi and Southern Africa. It outlines how trees can improve soil fertility, provide food, fodder, and fiber, as well as ecosystem services. Specific tree integration options presented include fertilizer trees intercropped with maize, improved fallows, and fodder trees. Data shows that these agroforestry systems can increase maize yields compared to conventional systems and improve resilience during drought. However, tree integration on farms remains low due to challenges such as labor constraints, animal damage, and lack of supportive policies.

1. Integrating Trees on Farms: What
Options are Available?
B.I. Nyoka
World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)
Transforming lives and Landscapes

2. Why Integrate trees on Farms
• Trees in agricultural landscapes are an important resource
for many smallholder farmers:
Trees improve soil fertility and farm resilience to Climate
change
Trees provide food (fruit, nuts, vegetable), fodder, bioenergy,
and fibre.
Trees also provide many ecosystem services such as watershed
protection and shade for livestock, honey production.
Trees improve productivity of pastures and rangelands
Trees improve Biodiversity conservation because they
ease pressure on protected forest areas.
• Trees can also bring damage to local livelihoods, through
harboring pests (e.g. birds on sorghum and millets)

3. Trends in maize production, food inadequacy and
prevalence of undernourishment, Malawi, 1999–2011
Transforming lives and Landscapes

4. Trends in maize yields in Malawi (source: FAOSTAT,
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5. Malawi & Southern Africa: - Challenges
• The region is predominantly dry with high rainfall
variability, characterized by frequent droughts and
floods (2014/15 is a case in point)
• Most smallholder farmers dependent on rain-fed
agriculture.
• 90% of the people depend on wood energy for
heating and cooking.
• Women spent about 1.5 hours a day when they do
go to collect firewood

6. Malawi& Southern Africa - Challenges
• Average annual temperature is expected to increase by
between 1.5-2.5˚C in the southern part of southern Africa
• By between 2.5 and 3˚C in the northern part of the region
• Increase in frequency of extreme climate and weather
events
• Increased frequency of floods and drought, (2014/15 season
amply demonstrated this: late start, floods, mid-season
drought).
• The region is recognised as one of the most vulnerable
regions to climate change because of low levels of adaptive
capacity particularly among rural communities

7. Impact of Climate Change on Crop
production
Crop Predicted Yield
Reduction( %)
Maize −22
Sorghum −17
Millet -17
Groundnuts -18
Cassava -8
Source: Schlenker and Lobell (2010)
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8. Predicted impact of CC on maize yields
in selected countries
Source: Schlenker and Lobell (2010)

9. Background: southern Africa
Country *Nutrient depletion (kg
ha/yr)
**Mean
fertilizer
use (kg/ha/yr)N P K
Malawi –48 –7 –37 39.9
Mozambique –23 –4 –19 6
Zambia –13 –1 –12 18.1
Zimbabwe –20 –1 –21 29.1
Tanzania –38 –6 –25 4.4
SSA (Target of 50kg/ha/yr by 2010) 8-12
Source: Henao and Baanante (1999) cited by Mafongoya et al., 2006*; World
Bank, 2014** : http://wdi.worldbank.org/table/3.2
Annual nutrient depletion and Fertiliser application in
agricultural soils in selected countries in Southern Africa
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10. Challenges of getting organic sources
Animal manure
• Due to low livestock ownership and numbers as well as poor diets, availability of cattle manure is very
limited in both quality and quantity
• A farmer requires 10-15 cattle to produce adequate manure for a hectare plot.
• Average livestock ownership: Chickens=3/HH, Goats=1/HH, Cattle= 0.4 /HH
Grain legumes
• Low quantity and quality of biomass of some grain legumes bred for high grain yield (e.g. soybean)
• Most of the N fixed by grain legumes is harvested with the grain.
Green Manure
• Due to shortage of land, dedicating a whole piece of land to green manure production (Mucuna and
Lablab) for a whole year is not an option in many parts of Malawi
Composts
• Only 32% of the farmers surveyed in Balaka produce and use compost manure
• Quantities produced were only enough to cover 17% of the farmers’ fields (≈0.9ha).
Crop residues
• Other than groundnut residues most crop reduces available in most smallholder fields cannot be used to
improve soil nutrient status, without affecting crop yields because they will immobilise nutrients (N).
• Options include the addition of large quantities of inorganic N-fertilisers, legume green manures or
residues rich in nitrogen, or other high nitrogen organic sources to overcome the nutrient immobilisation
potential of poor quality residues
Fertlliser Trees
• They produce large quantities of protein-rich leaf biomass that decomposes rapidly
• Major drawback is that they do not produce food
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11. Fertiliser tree: management options
• Maize-tree intercrops
1. Maize-Fertiliser trees (Coppicing types)
(e.g. Gliricidia sepium, Leucaena pp., Senna spectabilis
and Acacia angustissima)
2. Maize-Fertiliser trees (Full canopy species)
(e.g. Faidherbia albida)
• Annual Relay Fallows
• Improved fallow (Fertiliser tree-Maize crop
rotation)
(e.g. Sesbania, Tephrosia)
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12. Relay fallow of tephrosia as the maize
nears to harvesting
Relay fallow of tephrosia after maize is
harvesting

13. Two-year Tephrosia fallow produces large
quantities of biomass
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14. Maize yield under 4 management systems (1
conventional and 3 agroforestry based systems)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
No Fert No Fert 50% Fert 100 % Fert
No Tephrosia Tephrosia Tephrosia Tephrosia
Maizeyield(tonnes/ha)
Tephrosia + fertilizer supplementation
Source: Akinnifesi et al., 2006
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15. Gliricidia-Maize intercrop
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16. Maize yield under 6 different management
systems: conventional and agroforestry
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
No Fert 50% Fert 100 % Fert
MaizeYield(tonnesha)
Mineral Fertiliser supplementation
Maize only Gliricidia-maize Intercrop
(3 conventional: no fertilisation, 50% and 100% fertilisation and 3 agroforestry
based systems: fertiliser trees, 50% fertilisation + fertiliser trees, 100%
fertilisation + fertiliser trees)
Source: Akinnifesi et al., 2006Transforming lives and Landscapes

17. Transforming lives and Landscapes
Faidherbia-Maize intercrop: Full Canopy

18. Mean yields of maize under and outside canopies of
Faidherbia albida over four seasons in Zambia (37 trials
per season over 4 regions). Source: Shitumbanuma 2012
Transforming lives and Landscapes

19. Resilience of fertiliser-tree intercrops
in the face of Climate Change
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Sole Maize Gs-Maize Sole Maize Gs-Maize Sole Maize Gs-Maize Sole Maize Gs-Maize Sole Maize Gs-Maize
Rainfall(mm)
Maizeyieldt/ha
Management system
0% fertiliser 25% fertiliser 50% fertiliser Rainfall

20. Resilience of fertiliser-tree intercrops
in the face of Climate Change

21. Fodder and other trees
Exotic Fodder trees Indigenous Fodder
Acacia angustissima Albizia lebbeck
Gliricidia sepium Piliostigma thonningii
Calliandra calothyrsus Faidherbia albida
Sesbania sesban Acacia erioloba
Leucaena spp. Acacia nilotica
Acacia tortilis
Acacia spp.
Dichrostachys senerea
Combretum spp.
Colophospermum mopane
Can be integrated in crop fields, grazing areas, field boundary
or along contour bands

22. Influence of trees on pastures
• Trees influence the composition of grasses as well as how
they grow, with a larger proportion of more palatable grass
species beneath trees and is consistent and independent of
animal resting under the trees.
• By managing tree densities and configurations we can
achieve a balanced and productive rangelands and
pastures.
• Incorporating native trees in grazing production systems
provides both environmental and economic benefits for
landholders.
• Shade and shelter provided by trees has considerable value
in grazing lands due to reduced animal stress from extreme
temperatures

24. Reducing the burden
of collecting firewood
 Women spend 1.5 hrs per day when they
do go out to collect firewood
 Such precious time could be saved for
other productive chores if firewood
could be sourced on-farms
Transforming lives and Landscapes

25. Carbon sequestration: impact of selected tree-maize
intercrops in removal of emissions (baseline emission is 36 t
CO2e ha-1)
Site Tree-maize intercrop Total
(t CO2e
ha-1)
Annual
(t CO2e ha-
1yr-1)
Karonga Gliricidia-maize intercrop 40.5 2.0
Mzimba Gliricidia-maize intercrop 33.2 1.7
Salima Gliricidia-maize intercrop 39.3 2.0
Machinga Gliricidia-maize intercrop 33.7 1.7
Zomba Gliricidia-maize intercrop 34.7 1.7
Mulanje Gliricidia-maize intercrop 31.1 1.6
Mzimba Tephrosia-maize intercrop relay 69.9 3.5
Kasungu Tephrosia-maize intercrop relay 69.4 3.5
Mchinji Tephrosia-maize intercrop relay 72.2 3.6

26. But why is tree integration still low?
 Labour constraints?
 Animal and fire damage to trees
 Unsupportive Policies
 Silver bullet solutions
 Short planning horizons
 Lack of support/Low investments compare to other technologies
 Old colonial style approach of removing trees on agricultural and pasture lands
 Negative perceptions - often viewed as backward by some bureaucrats.