Agroforestry development and implementation in South Africa: an assessment of selected case studies

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Agroforestry (AF) is the integrated approach of producing trees and agricultural crops and/orlivestock in a single system on the same piece of land. Elements of AF have been practiced inSouth Africa (SA) since the late 1800's, through what's known as the Taungya system. AF hasnumerous environmental, economic and social benefits. However, there is limited research in SA toqualify and validate these benefits. The available information and research on AF practices in SA isalso highly fragmented, difficult to access or out-dated. There is also no formal national policy orstrategy that directly addresses the development and implementation of AF in SA. This nationalstudy composed of two phases. The first phase consisted of an assessment of AF development andimplementation at the national level where a self-administered questionnaire was distributed to keystakeholders and individuals, involved in the development, promotion and implementation of AF inSA. The second phase entailed the assessment of selected AF projects, using a combination ofcase studies and survey methods. The results and outcomes of the study provided qualitative andquantitative data on AF development and implementation in SA. This include an analysis of theextent and geographical distribution of AF projects; the major AF systems and practices used; themain barriers factors that hinder the development and implementation of AF. The key organisationsdeveloping and implementing AF were defined and an assessment of the main direct and indirectgoods and services derived from AF. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT)associated with AF projects; and the design and diagnosis (D&D) of AF systems were alsoidentified.The study concluded that AF systems are currently being developed and implemented in SA atvarious scales, level and with multiple management objectives, but potential to expand does exist.Several goods and services are also derived from AF systems, which make it a viable sustainableproduction alternative to conventional production. However, there are a number of barriers(institutional, technical, economic, policy/governance and social) affecting AF adoption, which needto be addressed. One of the recommendations is the development of a national AF policy andstrategy. Furthermore, the top ranking national level barriers, which were identified and assessedthrough the research study, should be addressed. A more comprehensive assessment of the extentand distribution of AF in SA are also required. Finally, a detailed quantitative assessment of the AFgoods and services and addressing the outcomes from the D&D of AF case studies in SA is needed.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University