Should Agroforestry be used as Farmers Risk Management

Abstract

Agriculture remains the main source of livelihood for households in the rural populace of sub-Saharan Africa. It plays a crucial role in the economic development and contributes significantly to the gross domestic product (GDP) of sub-Saharan African countries. However, population growth coupled with land degradation is aggravating the challenges of crop production (Tscharntke et al., 2012). Previously, farmers had compensated for yield decline due to soil impoverishment by clearing virgin forests to extend their farmlands. Nowadays, improving crop production by intensification cannot be practiced because of population growth and the necessity of stability of provisioning ecosystem services (Hardaker et al., 2021). Beside soil fertility decline and land degradation, climate change currently represents the major threat to agriculture and sustainability of rural households' livelihoods in West Africa with potential negative impacts on crops productivity and food security (Kone et al., 2022; Matiu et al., 2017; Ray et al., 2015).