TURNING LOCAL KNOWLEDGE ON AGROFORESTRY INTO AN ONLINE DECISION-SUPPORT TOOL FOR TREE SELECTION IN SMALLHOLDERS’ FARMS

This paper presents the main features of a unique decision-support tool developed for selecting tree species in coffee and cocoa agroforestry systems. This tool aims at assisting in the selection of appropriate shade trees taking into account local conditions as well as needs and preferences of smallholder farmers while maximizing ecosystem services from plot to landscape level. This user-friendly and practical tool provides site-specific recommendations on tree species selection via simple graphical displays and is targeted towards extension services and stakeholders directly involved in sustainable agroforestry and adaptation to climate change. The tool is based on a simple protocol to collect local agroforestry knowledge through farmers’ interviews and rankings of tree species with respect to locally perceived key ecosystem services. The data collected are first analysed using the BradleyTerry2 package in R, yielding the ranking scores that are used in the decision-support tool. Originally developed for coffee and cocoa systems of Uganda and Ghana, this tool can be extended to other producing regions of the world as well as to other cropping systems. The tool will be tested to see if repeated assessments show consistent ranking scores, and to see if the use of the tool by extension workers improves their shade tree advice to local farmers.

[1]  F. Herzog Multipurpose shade trees in coffee and cocoa plantations in Côte d'Ivoire , 1994, Agroforestry Systems.

[2]  F. Sinclair,et al.  Farmers in Côte d’Ivoire value integrating tree diversity in cocoa for the provision of ecosystem services , 2014, Agroforestry Systems.

[3]  S. Scherr,et al.  From climate-smart agriculture to climate-smart landscapes , 2012, Agriculture & Food Security.

[4]  E. Somarriba,et al.  SHADE MANAGEMENT IN COFFEE AND CACAO PLANTATIONS- A REVIEW , 1997 .

[5]  A. Angelsen,et al.  Tree crops as deforestation and reforestation agents : the case of cocoa in Côte d'Ivoire and Sulawesi , 2001 .

[6]  F. Sinclair,et al.  Taking local knowledge about trees seriously , 2001 .

[7]  Patrice Levang,et al.  Three decades of deforestation in southwest Sumatra: effects of coffee prices, law enforcement and rural poverty , 2009 .

[8]  R. Coe Analyzing Ranking and Rating Data from Participatory On-Farm Trials , 2002 .

[9]  E. Somarriba,et al.  Trade-offs between crop intensification and ecosystem services: the role of agroforestry in cocoa cultivation , 2014, Agroforestry Systems.

[10]  Fergus L. Sinclair,et al.  Local knowledge of impacts of tree cover on ecosystem services in smallholder coffee production systems , 2012 .

[11]  Fergus L. Sinclair,et al.  The role of local knowledge in determining shade composition of multistrata coffee systems in Chiapas, Mexico , 2007, Biodiversity and Conservation.

[12]  Fergus L. Sinclair,et al.  Scaling up agroforestry requires research ‘in’ rather than ‘for’ development , 2014 .

[13]  David Firth,et al.  Bradley-Terry Models in R: The BradleyTerry2 Package , 2012 .

[14]  Jeroen C.J. Groot,et al.  Multi-objective optimization and design of farming systems , 2012 .

[15]  Shade management in coffee and cacao plantations , 1998 .

[16]  C. Staver,et al.  Designing pest-suppressive multistrata perennial crop systems: shade-grown coffee in Central America , 2001, Agroforestry Systems.

[17]  F. Sinclair,et al.  LOCAL KNOWLEDGE OF TREE ATTRIBUTES UNDERPINS SPECIES SELECTION ON COFFEE FARMS , 2016, Experimental Agriculture.

[18]  M. Borgerhoff Mulder,et al.  Ecological, economic and social perspectives on cocoa production worldwide , 2007, Biodiversity and Conservation.

[19]  C. Staver,et al.  Coffee agroecosystem performance under full sun, shade, conventional and organic management regimes in Central America , 2011, Agroforestry Systems.

[20]  Shibu Jose,et al.  Agroforestry for ecosystem services and environmental benefits: an overview , 2009, Agroforestry Systems.

[21]  Ashiraf Mawanda Functional Suitability of Trees in Coffee Shade Systems in different Precipitation Zones of Central Uganda , 2016 .

[22]  C. Wood,et al.  A systems approach to comparing indigenous and scientific knowledge: consistency and discriminatory power of indigenous and laboratory assessment of the nutritive value of tree fodder , 1999 .

[23]  F. Sinclair,et al.  The utility of farmer ranking of tree attributes for selecting companion trees in coffee production systems , 2018, Agroforestry Systems.

[24]  J. Gockowski,et al.  Smallholder Cacao (Theobroma cacao Linn.) cultivation in agroforestry systems of West and Central Africa: challenges and opportunities , 2001, Agroforestry Systems.

[25]  C. Harvey,et al.  Biodiversity conservation in cocoa production landscapes: an overview , 2007, Biodiversity and Conservation.

[26]  Claude A. Garcia,et al.  Trademarks, Geographical Indications and Environmental Labelling to Promote Biodiversity: The Case of Agroforestry Coffee in India , 2014, Development Policy Review.