Ecological and Socio Economic Potential of Agroforestry: A Demonstration of Multi-story Agroforestry Practice in North Shewa Zone, Amhara Region

Abstract

The homestead multistory agroforestry demonstration was conducted at Tarmaber district of North Shewa zone to demonstrate and evaluate model multistory agroforestry practice for its ecological and economic importance for the rural communities of the area. The demonstration in addition aimed to further enhance farmers' knowledge on this new cultivation method before any further adoption. The demonstration study was started in June 2013 as multistory agroforestry practices and established with special and temporal arrangements with three strata. The upper stratum comprised tree components, middle stratum was fruits and the lower stratum was different annual crops. The total area of a demonstration site was 0.045ha. Persea americana, Rhamnus prinoides, Coffea arabica, Musa paradisiaca, Phaseolus lunatus, Hibisicus sabdariffa and Vigna unguiculata were planted at different time of the lifetime of the study and yield data were collected. The results from this demonstration study showed that, on average 1507 kg of edible NTFPs harvested per hectare per year. Organic matter and available phosphorus were increased from 1.52 to 2.14%, and 4.26 to 15.98 ppm, respectively. In addition, this practice showed higher net present value (NPV) and benefit-cost ratio (B/C) than the two crop land 3537.36 US$ and 3.3 per ha from these different components. From this study it can be concluded that multistory agroforestry may be ecologically advantageous land use system for sustainable food, biomass production and economic return comparing with conventional agricultural practices. Therefore, future agricultural extension adoption should consider this homegarden agro-forestry practice for sustainable agricultural production and productivity especially in North Shewa areas where this practice is not well known.