Green Guardians: How Agroforestry is Transforming East Africa's Carbon Footprint
Introduction
According to the IPCC, average global temperatures have risen by 1.1°C over the past century and a half, spurring adverse effects across the globe. Rising sea levels, heatwaves, heavy precipitation, droughts, and tropical cyclones leave up to 3.6 billion people living in highly vulnerable climate contexts. These vulnerabilities are amplified for low-income individuals, who constitute 42% of East Africa’s population.
There exist many solutions to tackle the climate crisis, one of which is carbon sequestration; this involves large-scale implementation of practices that detract carbon from the atmosphere, with the aims of mitigating the effects of carbon-intensive human activity and minimising the greenhouse effect. Forests – and on a smaller scale, trees – act as carbon sinks, drawing in up to 40 kg of carbon dioxide per tree per annum. Therefore, agroforestry, is an attractive carbon sequestration method, especially given the abundance of land used for agriculture worldwide. Despite the economic backbone that agriculture is to East Africa, it is frequently cleared for cattle grazing or plantations between 2016 and 2021. Farming is the leading cause of deforestation in Kenya, with 2% of the nation’s primary forests cleared for cattle grazing or plantations between 2016 and 2021. Given the prevalence of agriculture in East African life, and the concurrent urgency of the climate crisis, it is imperative that climate solutions like carbon sequestration be woven into farming activities in East Africa.
The Concept of Agroforestry
The concept of agroforestry takes many forms and no longer revolves solely around the dispersed planting of trees on land traditionally intended for crops. Primary classifications are made based on the species involved in the agroforestry practice.
The most conventional form of agroforestry is agrisilviculture. This involves the intercalation of trees onto crop farmland, and/or the incorporation of crops into forested land. Silvopasture features trees grown on pastures used for cattle grazing. Other forms of agroforestry see trees coexisting with wildlife (e.g., bee hives in trees) or human settlements.
Smaller-scale iterations of agroforestry also exist in the form of home gardens and compost heaps, which in their own right promote biodiversity, soil health, and food security.
Figure 1. Primary classification of agroforestry practices based on predominant components and land usage. Source
Secondary classifications of agroforestry practices provide more distinction based on tree dispersion, planting style and component diversity. Many such classifications exist. Alley cropping, for instance, features rows of trees between which commercial crops are grown. Bunds and mounds among crops or forest trees allow for composting and the cultivation of nonvascular plants like moss and fungi, which contribute towards soil health and biodiversity.
Figure 2. Secondary classification and description of agroforestry practices based on arrangement, density and diversity of components. Source
Agroforestry and Carbon Sequestration in East Africa
East Africa has one of the smallest carbon footprints in the world with total annual emissions of less than 250 million tonnes, about 1.43% of the global total. However, the region’s alarming deforestation rates, amidst global climate shifts that have spurred unrelenting droughts and floods, necessitate immediate and wide-scale action on the matter.
Agroforestry may be the most pragmatic path forward to negate significant portions of East Africa’s carbon footprint. Agroforestry systems prove to be highly effective carbon sinks. In East Africa, they stock about 24.2 tonnes of carbon per hectare in biomass, and an additional 98.8 tonnes per hectare in the soil. If all farmland in East Africa were agroforested, up to 1 billion tonnes of carbon could be sequestered annually, nearly three quarters of Africa’s carbon footprint.
Benefits Beyond Carbon Sequestration
Aside from its carbon sequestration capacity, agroforestry also has several benefits for soil health. Roots bind soil into place, preventing it from being eroded away during extreme weather. Agroforestry also augments soil nutrition; litterfall, pruning, and organic matter from organisms living in trees can increase soil organic matter by 50 to 100%, and boost soil microbiological activity by up to 30%. Tree roots are also able to access nutrient sediments trapped much deeper in the soil, bringing these up to the surface where crops with shallower roots can absorb them.
Additionally, agroforestry allows for more equitable distribution of the economic benefits of agriculture within East African communities, while also protecting East Africa’s unique and biodiverse ecosystems. Uganda, for example, hosts half of Africa’s endemic bird species, as well as more endangered vertebrae than any other country on the continent. This wildlife is under immense threat, as the country lost 68,700 hectares of forested land in 2023. Agroforestry, while incomparable to the ecological support offered by full-scale forests, offers forest-dependent species a chance at survival where their habitats would otherwise disappear, slowing down the rate of species endangerment whilst long-term afforestation strategies are implemented.
Furthermore, by preserving soil quality, agroforestry extends the viability of land foragricultural use, bringing greater financial stability. Fodder shrubs, fruit trees and nutrient lending trees planted among crops boost agricultural yields and can be used to feed cattle, yet again opening out new income streams for local farming communities. Overall, food insecurity could decrease by 12 to 17% due to agroforestry practices.
Carbon credits are another potential income source linked to agroforestry. East African farmers stand to gain large profits by committing to agroforestry projects that sequester carbon to offset the outputs of businesses across the globe.
Case Studies in East Africa
Existing agroforestry projects in East Africa have already yielded successful outcomes, demonstrating the promising potential for the tactic as a major carbon sequestration method in the region. In Uganda, Trees for Global Benefit (TGB) operates a unique model that intertwines carbon offsetting with livelihood improvements. Partnering with smallholder farmers, TGB has established thousands of acres of agroforestry systems across rural Uganda. Farmers earn direct payments from carbon credits sold to international corporations, which enhances household income and fosters sustainable land stewardship. Since its incorporation in 2003, Trees for Global Benefits has paid out $4.76 million to 26,555 participating households spanning 18,140 hectares and 19 districts. Trees planted by the project through 2022 are projected to sequester 3.89 million tonnes of CO2. Notably, the project’s design incorporates extensive community involvement, with local leaders actively participating in planning and implementation. This collaboration has bolstered community ownership, with farmers seeing tangible economic rewards and gaining increased food security through diversified crops.
Challenges Facing Agroforestry Adoption in East Africa
Several factors influence farmers’ decisions on whether to adopt agroforestry practices. Capital-related barriers are the most prevalent in East Africa, especially among low-income subsistence farmers, who do not always wish to invest money into seedlings and watering systems to tend to trees until they mature enough to begin having beneficial impacts on crop yields. In a study conducted in Southern Rwanda, it was found that land ownership was one of the major barriers to the adoption of agroforestry techniques. Sharecroppers and farmers on plantations owned by larger entities lack the agency to implement new agricultural processes independently.
The prevalence of agriculture in East African societies also means that many of those who are employed in the sector are not necessarily experts, but rather, ‘amateur’ subsistence farmers, who do not always recognise what they stand to gain by adopting silvoagriculture.
Future of Agroforestry for Carbon Sequestration in East Africa
For agroforestry to thrive, East African governments must address challenges faced by small-scale farmers. The formation of farmers’ cooperatives could direct funding to smaller farmers, enabling them to make initial investments into seedlings and equipment. Additional frameworks to support lower-income farming households in getting continuous and increased access to credit should be promoted by East African governments. The supplementary contributions of NGOs and angel investors could help sustain such programmes until agroforestry becomes a universal practice. Collaborations with other governments who have successfully realised wide-scale agroforestry, like Indonesia, may allow East African states to access the expertise necessary to seamlessly see such strategies to fruition.
Meanwhile, educating farmers on the benefits and importance of agroforestry is another key step in increasing its prevalence. Methods like community centres with educational programmes or door-to-door education may prove effective in rural East African settings. Town halls led by local government officials (e.g., MCAs in Kenya) could be a particularly impactful form of outreach from a sect of government that understands the struggles their communities endure.
Conclusion
Given the prevalence of agriculture in the region, the urgency of the climate crisis, and food insecurity that burdens many communities, agroforestry presents a solution that marries environmental sustainability with socioeconomic development, rendering it a promising carbon sequestration technique in East Africa. Various agroforestry techniques can be employed to achieve impressive withdrawals of carbon from the atmosphere. Agroforestry also improves soil health and improves biodiversity, while simultaneously benefiting farmers by promoting crop diversity, opening additional streams of income, and providing greater food security and agency. Agroforestry projects in Rwanda have been massively successful, and the implementation of similar initiatives in other East African nations could spell bountiful environmental, social and economic benefits in the years to come. With strategic collaboration between East African governments, multinational companies and NGOs to prioritise agroforestry as a key strategy, the ambition of achieving sustainable development in the region could quickly become a palpable reality.
