The Chagga homegardens: a multistoried agroforestry cropping system on Mt. Kilimanjaro (Northern Tanzania)

The homegardens are characterised by an intensive integration of numerous multipurpose trees and shrubs with food crops and animals, simultaneously on the same unit of land.The Chagga are skilled farmers with an intimate knowledge of the crops and their ecological requirements. They have a good idea of functions/uses of the plant species on their farms. The large species diversity provides both subsistence and cash crops. It enables the farmer to keep his management options open and provides insurance against drought, pest and economic risks.     

Durian trees (Durio zibethinus Murr.) in Javanese home gardens: their importance in informal financial systems

Home gardens used to be an important source of income and wealth for many Javanese rural households. In the wake of economic development and income diversification processes, their role is increasingly linked to credit needs. People borrow money by pawning (gadai) trees from home gardens. The tree harvest is at the disposal of the lender during the loan period. Analysis of more than 80 oral gadai contracts on durian trees in West Java demonstrates that the real interest rate is not usurious and can be compared to other formal and informal credit interest rates. It also shows that distributions of loan rates and loan amounts do not differ according to their final use (consumption or investment) or to the family relationship between the two partners of the transaction.     

Soil erosion under a successional agroforestry sequence: a case study from Idukki District,Kerala, India

The Western Ghats of Kerala have been settled over the past 40 years by landless immigrants. Natural forests and cardamom (planted under forest canopy) have been widely replaced by small-holder cultivation. Settlers plant cassava and other annuals in the initial 3–5 years following clearing of the forest canopy. These crops are gradually replaced by black pepper, the dominant crop 5–15 years after clearing. Finally, other perennial crops, planted during the period when pepper was dominant, mature. A highly mixed “home garden” cropping phase is most common on sites 15–20 years after the forest canopy was removed. Soil erosion on sites cleared 1–3 years previously averaged 120 t/ha in the 1988 monsoon season. Over the same period, soil erosion under mature cardamom, pepper and mixed cultivation averaged 0.65, 3.5, and 1.45 t/ha respectively. Erosion levels appear to be related to cover at ground and intermediate (1–4 m) heights above the surface. Soil organic matter is high in the cardamom areas, declines rapidly when the forest canopy is cleared, remains low in pepper, and appears to rebuild to levels as more mixed agroforestry systems become established. Overall, there appears to be a succession in which high erosion and declining organic matter levels are temporary features associated with the conversion of sites from forests and cardamom to other phases.     

The farming system and traditional agroforestry systems in the Maya community of San Jose, Belize

Shifting slash-and-burn agriculture is likely one of the main causes of forest degradation in southern Belize. Although many development projects have attempted to reduce the impacts of agriculture on the tropical rainforest, the situation is still a cause for concern. A study of the farming system of the San Jose Maya community was therefore carried out to examine agricultural production in its social, cultural, economic, and political context. Results demonstrate that agricultural production contributes to forest degradation because of the limited availability of agricultural land, the low level of investment in agricultural production, the land tenure system, limited marketing opportunities, and the exclusion of Mayas from the country's political and economic domains. Agroforestry could, however, offer a partial solution to the problem of forest degradation. Three types of traditional agroforestry systems are practised in San Jose: the milpa (a slash-and-burn agriculture system), cacao (Theobroma cacao) cultivation under shade trees, and the homegarden. These traditional agroforestry systems almost entirely meet a family's needs for food and wood, and generate at least 62% of family income. Improving the productivity of these systems could help to reduce pressure on the forest in southern Belize.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Cuban homegarden ‘conuco’: a perspective environment for evolution and in situ conservation of plant genetic resources

Summary Cuban homegardens are called conucos. On the basis of new case studies additional information is provided about these conucos, their history, composition and importance. They and other gardens of similar type are characterized as suitable environment for in situ conservation and for the continuation of evolutionary processes.     

Soil morphological and chemical properties in homegardens on sandy beach ridges along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia

The morphological and chemical properties of homegardens in the beach ridges with interspersed swales (BRIS) soils were evaluated in order to find a clue for developing sustainable agricultural management. Field survey and soil sampling were conducted at the homegardens and secondary forests in Sungai Ular Village and in the experimental farm of Malaysian Agriculture Research Institute (MARDI), Cherating Station. Chemical fertilizers including ash, charcoal waste and plant litter were applied to the homegardens in both the inland-ward area (HG-I) and in the shoreline area (HG-S). Manure was applied in HG-I and seafood waste from fish processing was buried in the soils in HG-S. High correlation was found between total carbon (T-C) and cation exchange capacity (CEC), indicating soil organic matter was the determinant factor for CEC in the very sandy BRIS soils. The levels of T-C, total nitrogen (T-N), and CEC at 0–10 cm in HG-I in parallel with increasing ages of homegardens. The soils in 0–10 cm and 20–30 cm showed higher levels of T-C and T-N with higher C/N ratios in HG-I than in HG-S and the MARDI farm. The high levels of exchangeable Ca, Mg, and K in HG-I compared with the MARDI farm, suggesting that improved CEC with increasing soil organic matter in HG-I heighten the retention of basic cations supplied as chemical fertilizer, ash, and manure. The level of available P was higher in HG-S than HG-I, attributed by the seafood waste application in the shoreline area. Thus, on the BRIS, the levels of soil organic matter and nutrients can be sustained by the homegarden management although it cannot be regarded as a closed system compared with those in the other tropical regions because chemical fertilizer was used and a certain amounts of nutrients seemed to leach down beyond plant rooting depth.     

Homestead Agroforestry in Bangladesh: Dynamics of Stand Structure and Biodiversity

The cultivation of different plants around homesteads for subsistence and cash income has been a long tradition in Bangladesh. This study explores stand structure, composition, and biodiversity within the homestead agroforests of the drought-prone, northwestern region of Bangladesh. In 96 randomly selected homesteads within 3 study villages, we identified 56 tree species. Among those, Mangifera indica (mango) was the most popular fruit bearing species. Four non-parametric diversity indices were derived to provide a characterization of biodiversity. The Sørenson similarity index was also used to compare the similarity of species among different landholding size classes. The overall Shannon-Wiener biodiversity index and Pielou's evenness index values were 1.82 and 0.45, respectively. This study confirms that the farmers had strong preference for fruit species over timber yielding ones, and because of better growth performance natives were preferred over exotics.     

Productivity and nutrient cycling of a Javanese homegarden

In a 0.13 ha homegarden in West Java, Indonesia, a 16-week study of production, nutrient in- and outputs as well as internal circulation was carried out in 1989. Total annual agricultural production was 11.4 t ha^–1, of which 6.8 t ha^–1 were timber and firewood. Two thirds of the production was sold, the rest consumed by the owners. The productivity is more than twice the productivity of ricefields in the area, but can be raised further. Nutrient inputs in rainfall, streamwater and via N-fixation were estimated to a total of: 33 kg N, 7 kg P, 115 kg K, 79 kg Ca and 55 kg Mg ha^–1 yr^–1. Outputs in streamwater, harvest sold and erosion were estimated at: 42 kg N, 11 kg P, 151 kg K, 278 kg Ca and 83 kg Mg. Litterfall and pruning returned 10.0 and 7.5 t dry matter, respectively, per hectare to the soil annually. Throughfall was on average 92% of incident rainfall. Total amounts of nutrients circulated internally in the homegarden each year were estimated at: 223 kg N, 38 kg P, 373 kg K, 135 kg Ca and 50 kg Mg per hectare. This corresponded to 22, 44, 50, 20 and 30% of nutrients stored in the plant biomass, respectively. The balance is negative for all elements, the magnitude depending on whether the part of harvest consumed by the family itself is regarded as internal circulation or as an output. Compared to available soil reserves the system is likely to be sustainable for many years ahead, but may be vulnerable because of the high fraction of plant nutrient storage cycled annually.     

The role of nontimber tree products in household food procurement strategies: profile of a Sri Lankan village

Reliance on nontimber forest products from homegardens and forests in a Sri Lankan village is presented. Land and tree tenure in this village adjacent to the Sinharaja Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Reserve have shifted dramatically because of changing priorities in forest management recently shifting from utilization toward complete forest protection. Local residents must adapt to a new set of social circumstances. Household demographics, access to land, and income from nontimber forest products (NTFPs) and external employment are examined as pertinent to household food acquisition. Linear correlations show significant associations between income generated from the sale of agricultural produce and nontimber forest products and the amount of money allocated to food purchases. Fifty-five edible plant species were found in homegardens. Four forest tree species provide food regularly. Case studies are essential in increasing the natural resource manager's awareness about the role of agroforestry in protected areas management and his or her understnading of promoting protection without compromising subsistence needs.     

The homegarden agroforestry system of Bukoba district,North-Western Tanzania. 1. Farming system analysis

Bukoba district is located in the north-western part of Tanzania and its economy is predominantly agricultural. Banana and coffee are, respectively, the most important food and cash crops. Population density is very high (500–1250 persons per km² of cultivated land) and so is the pressure on land and other natural resources. Farm holdings (homegardens) are mostly smaller than a hectare and continue to fragment as population continues to grow. A homegarden is locally known as Kibanja and it is both a social and economic unit of farm families in the district. Various crops, trees, shrubs, herbs and livestock are managed on the same piece of land mainly by family labour to provide food, cash, medicine, shade, poles, timber and some socio-cultural functions. This paper describes the homegarden agroforestry farming system of Bukoba, evaluates its viability and identifies critical constraints as well as research needs.