review · Discover Environment
A systematic review evaluating a decade of literature from 2015 to 2026 examines the effects of agroforestry in Sub-Saharan Africa on managing fall armyworm, advancing One Health outcomes, and delivering ecosystem services. Analysing 100 qualifying studies, the review identifies strong evidence that agroforestry practices improve soil fertility, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and livelihood diversification for smallholder farmers. Documented benefits also include food provisioning and income generation, which bolster household resilience against economic and climatic pressures. However, rigorous empirical proof that agroforestry directly reduces fall armyworm incidence and crop damage remains scarce, as available research relies heavily on farmer perceptions and cross-sectional data. Furthermore, One Health dimensions are poorly integrated, primarily focusing on animal and human health whilst neglecting plant health, food safety, and environmental links.
Agroforestry is widely advocated as a natural solution to pests, land degradation, and poverty. Understanding where the evidence is solid and where it remains unproven allows agricultural programmes and policymakers to direct funding effectively, avoiding assumptions about pest control that have not yet been empirically verified.
The findings highlight early-stage evidence for agroforestry as an integrated pest management tool. Agricultural development organisations, extension services, and project developers can apply the proven ecosystem and livelihood benefits, but commercial biological pest control solutions based on these systems will require further longitudinal and interdisciplinary testing to prove their effectiveness against fall armyworm.
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Agroforestry is increasingly promoted as a nature-based solution for addressing pest management as biological fight, ecosystem degradation, and livelihood vulnerability in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, evidence on its effectiveness in managing fall armyworm, (FAW) advancing One Health outcomes, and improving human well-being remains fragmented. This systematic review synthesizes a decade of peer-reviewed literature to evaluate the effects of agroforestry technologies on fall armyworm management, ecosystem services, One Health dimensions in the Sub-Saharan African region. Using the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, studies published from 2015 to 2026 were systematically identified from major scientific databases. Of the 425 records retrieved, 100 studies met the selection criteria and were analyzed thematically. The review reveals strong and consistent evidence that agroforestry enhances ecosystem services, particularly soil fertility, biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, and livelihood diversification in smallholder systems. Income generation and food provisioning benefits are well documented, highlighting agroforestry’s role in strengthening household resilience under climate and economic stress. In contrast, direct empirical evidence linking agroforestry practices to measurable reductions in fall armyworm incidence and crop damage remains limited, with most studies relying on cross-sectional designs and farmer perceptions. Similarly, One Health applications are weakly operationalized, with research largely focused on zoonotic and human-animal health, while plant health, food safety, and environmental pathways receive minimal attention. Overall, the findings expose a significant gap between agroforestry’s multifunctional promise and current evidence base. Advancing sustainable food systems will require longitudinal study and interdisciplinary research that explicitly integrates pest dynamics, ecosystem processes, and human health outcomes to inform policy.
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DOI: 10.1007/s44274-026-00992-x
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