Agroforestry: how local communities are restoring their land
- Agroforestry means combining trees with crops or livestock on the same plot of land.
- In Africa, it allows local communities to restore degraded land while continuing to produce.
- Its benefits are tangible: more fertile soil, better water retention, and more diverse income from fruit, wood and fodder.
- Some trees, such as Faidherbia albida, naturally fertilise the fields they grow in.
- Successful projects rely on training farmers and on tree species chosen together with them.
In the Sahel, some millet fields are dotted with tall trees whose branches are bare during the rainy season. This is not the farmer's oversight. These trees shed their leaves at exactly the moment the crops need them, dropping them to the ground as a natural fertiliser.
This partnership between tree and field has a name: agroforestry. Long seen as an outdated traditional practice, it is now one of the most promising responses to land degradation in Africa.
Its main strength comes down to one idea: restoring the land without ever having to stop farming it.
What is agroforestry?
Agroforestry refers to all the practices that deliberately combine trees with agricultural crops or livestock on the same land. The tree is no longer the field's competitor; it becomes its partner.
For an overview of the basic principles, our article on agroforestry in 4 key questions covers the fundamentals.
The main forms of agroforestry in Africa
Parklands. Trees scattered across fields, such as shea, néré or Faidherbia albida in West Africa. This is the most widespread form in the Sahel.
Agroforestry gardens. Plots with several layers stacked on top of one another: tall fruit trees, shrubs, food crops and low-growing plants. They are found in particular in Madagascar and in humid regions.
Hedges and windbreaks. Rows of trees along the edges of fields, which shelter crops from the wind and limit erosion.
Silvopasture. Combining trees with grazing land, where the trees provide shade and fodder for the animals.
Why does agroforestry restore the land?
Trees feed the soil
Falling leaves decompose and enrich the soil with organic matter. Some species, the legumes, capture nitrogen from the air and fix it in the ground. Faidherbia albida is the best-known example: in several countries in Southern and West Africa, maize and millet yields are significantly higher under its canopy than in open fields.
Roots hold water and soil in place
Deep roots stabilise the soil, limit erosion by rain and wind, and help water soak into the ground. In drought-prone regions, this better-retained water often makes the difference between a harvest and a loss.
Shade protects crops
In an increasingly hot climate, the partial shade of trees reduces evaporation and heat stress on plants. It creates a microclimate that is better for both crops and animals.
Agroforestry does not force a choice between producing and protecting. It makes it possible to feed a family today while rebuilding fertile soil for the next generation.
How are local communities taking ownership of agroforestry?
Farmer-managed natural regeneration: the Sahel example
In Niger and Burkina Faso, farmers have regreened millions of hectares since the mid-1990s. Their method: spot the shoots growing back from the stumps of felled trees, protect them, prune them and let them grow in the middle of the fields.
This regreening did not come from a major international programme. It was born of farmers who saw their harvests and incomes improve with the trees.
Trees that generate income
The key to adoption is economic. A mango, cashew, coffee or moringa tree provides products that can be sold. Deadwood is used for cooking, leaves for fodder. Each tree becomes an additional source of income, and therefore an asset the family protects.
This is what sets agroforestry apart from planting imposed from outside: the trees belong to the people who live from them.
Training, an essential step
Choosing the right species, managing competition between trees and crops, pruning at the right time: agroforestry has to be learned. Sustainable projects invest as much in training as in seedlings.
Agroforestry takes time: a fruit tree needs several years before it produces. Without support during this period, without access to water for young seedlings and without land tenure security for farmers, projects often fail.
What concrete results has agroforestry achieved in Africa?
| Benefit | Effect observed in the field |
|---|---|
| Soil fertility | More organic matter and nitrogen, less need for chemical fertilisers |
| Water | Better infiltration, groundwater recharge, crops less vulnerable to drought |
| Income | Fruit, wood, fodder and spices diversify sources of income |
| Food | Fruit and leaves enrich meals, especially during the lean season |
| Biodiversity | Return of birds, pollinators and soil fauna |
| Climate | Carbon storage in trees and in the soil |
By strengthening local production, agroforestry also contributes to the food sovereignty of communities, which become less dependent on outside markets.
It is also one of the 8 solutions to take action against deforestation, since it makes it possible to produce more on existing land without clearing new forests.
How does LIFE support agroforestry?
LIFE's Sapousse programme, launched in 2016, follows this approach. Rather than planting isolated forests, it provides families with "economic" trees suited to their land and combined with their crops.
In Madagascar, 400 families in the Anosy, Itasy and Bongolava regions each received 500 seedlings: ravintsara, mango, tapia, cinnamon and coffee trees, a total of 200,000 trees. Fruit and cash-crop species provide a regular income while the trees restore the soil.
The plantings come with complementary actions: distribution of farming equipment and green manure, creation of market gardens, and training in sustainable agriculture and green entrepreneurship. More than 14,000 people have been supported in Senegal, Mali, Benin, Morocco, Madagascar, Lebanon, Bangladesh and Indonesia. The results are published in LIFE's activity reports.
These projects are part of the wider movement for reforestation in Africa, driven by one conviction: a tree that feeds people is a tree that stays standing.
Donations to LIFE's agroforestry projects qualify for a 66% tax reduction. Calculate what your donation really costs you →
With €2, you fund a fruit or cash-crop tree planted right among a family's crops. With €15 a month, you support all of LIFE's agroforestry projects.
Support agroforestry with LIFE →What is a simple definition of agroforestry?
It means growing trees on the same plots as agricultural crops or pastures, so that each benefits the other: the trees enrich the soil and protect the crops, and the fields stay productive.
What are the benefits of agroforestry in Africa?
It improves soil fertility, retains water, limits erosion, protects crops from heat and diversifies family incomes through fruit, wood and fodder.
Which trees are used in African agroforestry?
The most common include Faidherbia albida, shea, néré, moringa, mango, cashew and baobab. In Madagascar, coffee trees, cinnamon trees and ravintsara are also planted.
Does agroforestry increase crop yields?
Yes, in the medium term. Under certain fertilising trees such as Faidherbia albida, cereal yields are significantly higher. The first few years do require patience, however, while the trees grow.
What is the difference between agroforestry and reforestation?
Reforestation aims to recreate a forest. Agroforestry integrates trees into farmland that remains under cultivation. The two are complementary in the fight against land degradation.
