‘Trees for Food Security’ - Improving sustainable productivity in farming systems and evergreen agriculture in eastern Africa

• The results of a 12 year study in Malawi and Zambia have shown that intercropping boosts maize yields by 50%.

The researchers said Gliricidia “fixes” nitrogen from the air, converting it into a form ideal for maize growth, thus lessening the need for large doses of manufactured nitrogen fertilisers. Gliricidia also sheds leaves, thus returning organic matter to the soil and increasing the soil’s structural stability, erosion resistance, and water storage capacity. Read more about the study.

• Webinar on agroforestry’s potential to foster food security and mitigate and build resilience to climate change: ‘Farming the associations’ with trees for food security, climate resilience
• Read the CGIAR’s article Agroforesty as a provider of better nutrition and more income
  • “In Malawi, analysis shows that farms planted with these trees can generate between 1.4 and 2.0 tonnes per hectare more maize grain compared to other maize plots on the same farms, without any additional cash costs,” reported ICRAF. “In Zambia, unfertilized maize yields in the vicinity of Faidherbia trees averaged 4.1 tonnes per hectare, compared to 1.3 tonnes per hectare nearby but beyond the canopy, in the absence of any commercial fertilizer application.”
• Read the article by Project Leader Prof Catherine Muthuri from the July 2013 AIFSC Newsletter - Trees for food security: an update for year one
• Slide show by Project Leader Prof Catherine Muthuri presented at Development Futures Conference December 2013 - Enhancing Food Security and Livelihoods through Agroforestry practices:Key lessons from the ‘Trees for Food Security’ project in Ethiopia and Rwanda
• Read article by Project Leader Prof Catherine Muthuri from Eco News - Project helps African farmers grow trees
• Read an article about the project in CIMMYT’s Informa