Tracy Beedy

Carbon Sequestration Potential of Agroforestry Systems in Africa

Agroforestry can raise carbon (C) stocks of agricultural systems, and such increases can potentially be sold as CO2 emission offsets. We assembled information on the biophysical, technical, economic, and practical potential of agroforestry to sequester C for the West African Sahel, East Africa, and Southern Africa. Agroforestry systems (AFS) such as parklands, live fences, and homegardens had substantial C stocks, but only accumulated 0.2–0.8 Mg C ha−1 year−1. Rotational woodlots (2.2–5.8 Mg C ha−1 year−1) and possibly improved fallows in Southern Africa sequestered C relatively faster, but only during the fallow phases. Data on soil C are scarce because most studies only compared soil C under different land uses, which provides limited (and sometimes unreliable) information on sequestration rates. Comparing results from different studies is difficult, because no standard protocols exist. Few studies have evaluated the economic potential of agroforestry to sequester C. However, at prices of

Tree Seed and Seedling Supply Systems: A Review of the Asia, Africa and Latin America Models

10 per Mg CO2-eq or less, the value of stored C in most systems would be less than

Development ethics and evolving methods: a comparison of fair trade with the Millennium Villages Project

30 ha−1 year−1, which is a small fraction of annual farm revenue and it needs to cover all transaction measurement reporting and verification costs. Practical constraints to C sequestration (CS) such as land tenure, policy issues, and the opportunity costs incurred by possibly foregoing more profitable land management options have not been fully explored for Africa. For evaluating the challenges and opportunities involved in CS by smallholder farmers, comprehensive studies are needed that explore all C and non-C costs and benefits of agroforestry activities.

Impact of Gliricidia sepium intercropping on soil organic matter fractions in a maize-based cropping system

The paper reviews tree seed and seedling supply systems in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America. Across these regions, the review found that some of the germplasm supply systems do not efficiently meet farmers’ demands and environmental expectations in terms of productivity, species and genetic diversity. In some countries, germplasm used is mostly sourced from undocumented sources and often untested. Germplasm quality control systems are only found in a few countries. Appreciation of the value of tree germplasm of high genetic quality is low. Non-government organisations (NGOs) in many African countries play a prominent role in the supply of germplasm which is usually given to farmers without charge. The practice of giving farmers free germplasm by NGOs in many African countries and also government participation in germplasm supply in some Asian countries has been blamed for crowding out private entrepreneurs, although this is not substantiated by any evidence to suggest that the smallholder farmers are willing and able to pay for the germplasm. In some Latin American countries, private companies, government and NGOs provide farmers tree germplasm in a partnership in which farmers provide land and labour in return. Overall, tree germplasm markets are large in Asia, due in part to large afforestation programs, intermediate in Latin America and small in Africa where smallholder farmers constitute the market. In countries where germplasm quality control is practiced, it is either through a legal framework or voluntary. A few countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America have developed protocols for certification of tree seeds based on the OECD. Some germplasm suppliers use branding as a way of differentiating their germplasm as having superior quality. To enhance the use of high quality germplasm, there is a need to demonstrate the value of using such germplasm and raise awareness of germplasm quality among the farmers and policy-makers.

Variation in maize yield gaps with plant nutrient inputs, soil type and climate across sub-Saharan Africa

The motivations for rural and agricultural development in the twenty-first century are not different from previous centuries, but evolving technologies in the late twentieth century have altered many methods and institutional arrangements for accomplishing development. The internet has facilitated initiatives that in earlier decades would have required large, complex organizations in both donor and developing countries. We will compare the ethical and institutional strengths and weaknesses of two such initiatives in Malawi: a smallholder farmers organization involved in fair trade and the Millennium Village Project. These are two of a large array of institutions which are currently being used to benefit smallholder agricultural producers. We will examine their relative merits through the lenses of various ethical paradigms and show that the institutional arrangements of the two programs are complimentary in the evolution of agricultural trading systems linking the global north and south.