Trees on the Farm: Assessing the Adoption Potential of Agroforestry Practices in Africa. (Book Reviews).

Ismail, Ahmed Mohammed

Franzel, S. and Scherr S.J (eds.) (2002) Trees on the Farm: Assessing the Adoption Potential of Agroforestry Practices in Africa. United Kingdom: CABI Publishing.

Agroforestry means "A dynamic ecologically based natural resource management system that, through the integration of trees on farms and in the agricultural landscape, diversifies and sustains production for increased social economic and environmental benefits for land users"

Agricultural land use and management present major development challenges throughout subsaharan Africa. Although the area under cultivation in the African continent has expanded notably and total yields are rising yet per capita food production per se has declined by about 2% per year since 1960. However constraints on growth in agricultural sectors, which is prevalent in African economies are an important factor explaining a 1% per year decline in per capita incomes between 1983-1993.

General circulation models predict that the global annual mean of surface temperature will show an increase in the order of 1-5[degrees]C during the next century and that the precipitation will increase by 25% during the same period. These changes are a result of the doubling of atmospheric CO2 concentration from pre-industrial levels.

Beside the aforementioned observations it is also noted that throughout the tropical savannahs and grasslands of the world, fire is a prevalent ecological process that dramatically eliminates forest systems and thus surplus CO2 will be available and unconsummed by forest trees in the process of photosynthesis.

Following this rather necessary introduction the book 'Trees on the Fann' is a definite remedial answer to all the raised observations. The volume is a collection of papers covering all aspects of the introduction to forest trees into agriculture.

Chapters 1-8 include: (a) methods of assessing agroforestry adoption potential (farmers and technology selection; village approach to technology testing; adaptive research and dissemination teams; biophysical performance; profitability). (b) Farmer designed agroforestry trials. (c) Promoting new agroforestry technologies- Policy lessons from on-farm research.

The volume is thought provoking material and a reference not only to agroforesters, those working in agriculture and agricultural economics but also to other biologists interested in related issues.

I do recommend to keep this volume in Al-Hafeed Library.