Content uploaded by Ann Degrande
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Ann Degrande on Feb 05, 2015
Content may be subject to copyright.
A preview of the PDF is not available
La parité hommes-femmes dans le secteur agroforestier : incidences pour la recherche-action
Abstract and Figures
Les femmes en Afrique subsaharienne contribuent énormément à l’économie agricole, toutefois, leur accès limité, par rapport aux hommes, aux ressources et opportunités de production, les empêchent d’atteindre une production optimale. Cet article donne un aperçu des questions relatives à la participation des femmes à l’agroforesterie et des avantages qu’elles en dérivent, les défis auxquels elles doivent faire face et les exemples d’opportunités dont elles disposent pour renforcer leur participation à ce secteur. D’entrée, nous reconnaissons que le pouvoir de décision et de gestion des femmes en rapport avec les systèmes de production, est complexe et étroitement lié au contexte. Malgré leur participation active aux diverses pratiques agroforestières (ex. gestion des arbres fixateurs d’azote et fourragers, domestication des arbres fruitiers indigènes, etc.), leur niveau de participation et les avantages qu’elles en retirent sont souvent restreints par les normes culturelles et les ressources limitées. Les chaines de valeur de l’agroforesterie sont particulièrement importantes pour les revenus des femmes, mais là aussi, l’accès limité au capital, aux technologies et à l’information, empêchent les femmes de développer davantage leurs entreprises. En outre, les rôles des femmes dans les chaines de valeur sont souvent très peu soutenus par les responsables politiques (tant en ce qui concerne la formulation que la mise en oeuvre des politiques) et les prestataires de services. Les interventions visant à aider les petits producteurs à améliorer la commercialisation des produits des arbres et de l’agriculture n’ont pas toujours eu des effets positifs sur les femmes parce que lorsque l’entreprise devient plus rentable, les hommes ont tendance à se l’approprier. L’un des défis majeurs du développement agricole demeure toutefois l’accès limité des femmes aux services de vulgarisation. Il est attendu que les réformes profondes des systèmes de
vulgarisation africains qui ont entrainé l’abandon de leur approche de contrôle centralisé descendant, au profit d’un système plus participatif et pluraliste, amélioreront l’accès des femmes aux informations et services agricoles. Finalement, l’article fait quelques recommandations dans les domaines de la technologie, des politiques et des institutions visant à améliorer la participation des femmes à l’agroforesterie et à ses avantages, et à l’agriculture en général.
Figures - uploaded by Ann Degrande
Author content
All figure content in this area was uploaded by Ann Degrande
Content may be subject to copyright.
Supplementary resource (1)
Despite the central role that farmers play as agricultural producers in developing countries,
they are often inadequately served by research, extension and advisory services. Extension
approaches such as the farmer-to-farmer extension (F2F) approach were developed to improve
service to farmers, but little is known about how this approach is being used in Cameroon.
This paper examines the experiences of organizations using the F2F extension approach.
Specifically, the study characterizes and assesses F2F extension approaches in Cameroon to
determine which practices are most effective in different circumstances. A semi-structured
questionnaire was used to collect data from 24 selected organizations in seven regions of the
country. The F2F extension approach in Cameroon is used by farmer organizations as well as
national and international non-profit organizations. Neither governmental services nor private
sector companies use this approach. Those organizations using F2F extension had on average
five field staff (FS), and mainly targeted farmer groups.
Fifty-eight percent of organizations interviewed had one woman or no women among their
field staff. Though respondents stated that their organizations were using many different
extension approaches, in addition to the F2F approach, 41 percent identified F2F as the most
effective method. The main sources of technical information for FS were personal reading,
information exchanged during seminars and workshops, staff members’ own experiences and
research institutes.
Field staff were in charge of capacity development and follow-up of lead farmers (LFs). On
the basis of mutually agreed upon criteria, LFs were usually selected jointly by FS and the
community. According to the organizations interviewed, individual FS were working with 17
LFs on average, and the latter were training approximately four groups, each with about 43
members, in addition to 48 individual farmers outside of these groups. These LFs were
considered an extension of FS in their communities and usually offered their services on a
voluntary basis.
Some organizations supported LFs by providing per diem during training workshops and
meetings, and helping them set up income-generating opportunities such as selling livestock
or seedlings. Among the main motivations for one to become a lead farmer mentioned by
respondents were altruism and early access to technologies, followed by job benefits and
social status. To remain in the position, LFs were motivated by opportunities for income
generation and altruism, as well as social networking. Most of the organizations gave F2F a
score of 8 (on a scale of 1-10) for effectiveness, so it is clear that the F2F approach is
considered highly effective in Cameroon.
This paper reviews agroforestry's contribution to food security from a gender perspective. Emphasis is placed on women's contribution relative to men and the challenges they face. Agroforestry practices examined include fodder shrubs, ‘fertilizer trees’ and indigenous fruit trees. In examining the practices, we highlight women's and men's involvement in management, utilization and marketing of agroforestry products. The review shows that agroforestry makes a substantial contribution to food security. Furthermore, women are as actively involved as men; however, their level of participation and benefits are constrained by cultural norms and lack of resources. For women to benefit fully from agroforestry and hence contribute to food security, various policies, technological and institutional interventions are recommended.
The depletion and fragmentation of forest eco-systems represent the serious challenges for countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The living conditions close to forests reflect a typical livelihood situation in Eastern African countries, where the rural population is heavily dependent on forests and their contribution to households’ income, energy and hence food security, such is the case in Tanzania and Kenya for example. It is expected that current trends of deforestation will intensify, caused mainly by above-average population growth and the resultant food pressures combined with a rapid increase in energy demands. A computable village model has been developed to analyse the impact of alternative resource management strategies on the local income distribution and the long term resource use. The analysis uses the example of the Kakamega forest in Kenya and serves as an illustration of how forest resources significantly contribute to income generation in sub-Saharan African countries. Model results validate the assumed importance of forest income for the rural poor. Results further indicate that the sustainable utilization of forest resources will not be feasible unless alternative energy systems are broadly integrated into the village economy.
Recent papers indicate that decentralized bioenergy crop production offers increased market access and income diversification strategies for the rural population. The analyses concentrate on the potential effects of newly discussed crops such as Jatropha curcas, cassava, and sugarcane on macro level. Thereby two aspects are neglected, the income effects on micro level, and the integration of traditional firewood production systems for comparison. To fill this gap, an Environmentally Extended Social Accounting Matrix (ESAM) at the village level is developed and applied to a rural village in Tanzania. The objective is first to explore the integration of agroforestry systems in rural smallholder systems and second to analyze income effects of agricultural biomass production for bioenergy purposes in comparison to firewood production. In order to distinguish the use of firewood from public and private tree resources, environmental accounts for changes in tree stocks (public and private) are included. Findings indicate the importance of including common firewood production as a reference point. The highest income effect for the poorest households derives from agroforestry, which households use as a source of firewood and fruits for sale or home consumption, followed by J. curcas, sugarcane and finally cassava. Agroforestry in general has been also found to substantially release the pressure on public forest reserves.
Under the current scenario of rapid human population increase, achieving efficient and productive agricultural land use while conserving biodiversity is a global challenge. There is an ongoing debate whether land for nature and for production should be segregated (land sparing) or integrated on the same land (land sharing, wildlife-friendly farming). While recent studies argue for agricultural intensification in a land sparing approach, we suggest here that it fails to account for real-world complexity. We argue that agriculture practiced under smallholder farmer-dominated landscapes and not large-scale farming, is currently the backbone of global food security in the developing world. Furthermore, contemporary food usage is inefficient with one third wasted and a further third used inefficiently to feed livestock and that conventional intensification causes often overlooked environmental costs. A major argument for wildlife friendly farming and agroecological intensification is that crucial ecosystem services are provided by “planned” and “associated” biodiversity, whereas the land sparing concept implies that biodiversity in agroecosystems is functionally negligible. However, loss of biological control can result in dramatic increases of pest densities, pollinator services affect a third of global human food supply, and inappropriate agricultural management can lead to environmental degradation. Hence, the true value of functional biodiversity on the farm is often inadequately acknowledged or understood, while conventional intensification tends to disrupt beneficial functions of biodiversity. In conclusion, linking agricultural intensification with biodiversity conservation and hunger reduction requires well-informed regional and targeted solutions, something which the land sparing vs sharing debate has failed to achieve so far.
This paper investigates the economic relevance of sustainable behavior of agroforestry practices for smallholders using the example of firewood exploitation in rural Tanzania. Three questions are addressed: (I) To what extent do households behave sustainably regarding firewood extraction from agroforestty? (2) Which factors determine the likelihood of households practicing sustainable agroforestty? (3) Are sustainably behaving households better off in terms of income compared to households practicing unsustainable agroforestry? The analysis is based on cross-sectional data of 314 households. A sustainability indicator shows that the share of sustainable households varies between 14 and 41% depending on the underlying wood growth rate. The results of the logistic regression indicate that property rights regarding the ownership of agricultural land and environmental awareness increase the likelihood of sustainable firewood extraction. Empirical evidence from the quantile regression reveals that poorest households generate higher income if they extract firewood unsustainably. The opposite is true for households of upper income percentiles. Thus, the poor are likely to increase environmental degradation to generate more income causing a 'downward spiral' of the poverty-environment trap resulting in income losses in the long run. Households with a per capita income of 524 TZS or more manage their tree stocks sustainably.
The study addresses the two intertwined challenges of rural poverty and forest degradation in rural areas of Zagros, Iran. For a watershed in Zagros, a quantitative analysis based on the sustainable livelihood framework approach is used to identify household livelihood strategies, analyze livelihood choices, and investigate which strategies are most sustainable. The study revealed that most households (64%) follow a mixed strategy with a combination of forestry, animal husbandry, and subsistence agriculture. Households following a livelihood strategy that is highly dependent on forest extraction and livestock grazing (27%) are the poorest, whereas those that combine cultivation of commercial crops with non-farm work (9%) are able to earn higher incomes. The results also give some evidence of an Environmental Kuznets Curve: households that both adopt a mixed strategy and fall into the middle-income category are responsible for the highest overuse of forest resources and pasture. Since the end of 1980s, a number of households have shifted from a strategy based on forest and livestock to a strategy of mixed practices. An increasing share of households is adopting a strategy of non-farm and/or commercial practices, as well as outmigration to urban areas.
Late Quaternary vegetation history and environmental changes in a biodiverse tropical ecosystem are inferred from pollen, charcoal and carbon isotope evidence derived from a ∼ 48,000-yr sedimentary record from the Uluguru Mountains, a component of the Eastern Arc Mountains of Kenya and Tanzania. Results indicate that Eastern Arc forest composition has remained relatively stable during the past ∼ 48,000 yr. Long-term environmental stability of the Eastern Arc forests has been proposed as a mechanism for the accumulation and persistence of species during glacial periods, thus resulting in the diverse forests observed today. The pollen and isotope data presented here indicate some marked changes in abundance but no significant loss in moist forest taxa through the last glacial maximum, thereby providing support for the long-term environmental stability of the Eastern Arc. Anthropogenic activities, including burning and forest clearance, were found to play a moderate role in shaping the mosaic of forest patches and high-altitude grasslands that characterise the site today; however, this influence was tempered by the inaccessibility of the mountain.