Amongst human activity, industrial agriculture is a primary cause of biodiversity loss and climate change, reducing the land’s suitability for agriculture. This reduces global food security, increasing the pressure for food production which further exacerbates forest and land degradation. Agroforestry emerges as a promising solution by leveraging nature-based approaches to mimic natural ecosystems, combining trees with annual crops, to tackle both biodiversity loss and climate change. The adoption of tropical agroforests, shade-tolerant crops, scattered trees in parklands and homestead agroforestry, are all examples of how agroforestry has helped promote diverse and resilient landscapes capable of adapting to changing climatic conditions, while still providing essential ecosystem services. The positive influence of agroforestry on ecological processes is further supported by scientific evidence which shows that agroforestry enhances soil health, serves as a carbon sink and promotes resilience against climate hazards. The adoption of agroforestry may be hindered, however, by knowledge gaps, policy recognition and variations in effectiveness across different contexts. These can and should be overcome, because agroforestry is recognised by international organisations as a key strategy in sustainable land management and climate change mitigation, and as a vital tool for addressing food security on a global scale.

This review summarizes findings from 22 case studies published together in Tropical Forest Issues 61 (Torquebiau 2024). The case studies present clear and tangible benefits from the adoption of agroforestry, based on a wide range of practices from Africa, Latin America and Asia. In this review practices and conditions for tangible benefits of agroforestry are summarized. The practices are presented in four categories: crops under trees or intercropped with trees; annual crops under multispecies tree cover; perennial crops under multispecies tree layers; and agroforests. The conditions cover seven thematic areas: social and human capital; attention to women; governance priorities; technical assistance and capacity strengthening; legal, institutional and policy frameworks; economic research; and value chains.

Planting basins are an important soil and water conservation technology. This study evaluated the effects of basins on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks, aggregate stability (Ima), bulk density, soil moisture retention and sorghum yield in agro-ecological regions III, IV and V of Chipinge district. The experiment consisted of three treatments; namely planting basins (basins) with goat manure and inorganic fertilizer application, hand hoeing with similar fertility amendments (FP+) and hand hoeing without fertility amendments (FP). It was hypothesized that planting basins with fertility amendments would improve the selected soil quality parameters and sorghum yield. Only planting basins significantly (p˂0.05) improved soil quality parameters in the 0-15 cm depth and bulk density, Ima, SOC stocks ranged from 1356 to 1451 kg/m3; 314 to 450 and 14.18 to 25.55 Mg ha-1 respectively. Planting basins significantly increased (p<0.05) sorghum yield relative to hand-hoeing practices (FP+ and FP) with average grain yield of 2.68, 1.72 and 1.32 t ha-1 in agro-ecological regions III, IV and V, respectively. When compared to FP+ and FP, basins increased grain yield by >130% in all the 3 agro-ecological regions. The hypothesis was accepted and it was concluded that basins improve soil properties and sorghum grain yield in agro-ecological regions III, IV and V. Considering the soil and crop productivity benefits highlighted in this study, there is a strong justification for the widespread promotion and adoption of planting basins in semi-arid agro-ecological regions of Zimbabwe.

Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) are critical biodiversity areas for the conservation and sustainable use of biological and cultural resources while promoting regional peace, cooperation, and socio-economic development. Sustainable management of TFCAs is dependent on the availability of an eco-agriculture framework that promotes integrated management of conservation mosaics in terms of food production, environmental protection or the conservation of natural resources, and improved human livelihoods. As a developmental framework, eco-agriculture is significantly influenced by existing legal and governance structures at all levels; this study assessed the impact of existing legal and governance frameworks on eco-agriculture implementation in the Lubombo TFCA that cuts across the borders between Mozambique, Eswatini, and South Africa. The assessment used a mixed research method, including a document review, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions. Although the three countries have no eco-agriculture policies, biodiversity practices are directly or indirectly affected by some policies related to environmental protection, agriculture improvement, and rural development. The assessment found that South Africa has the most comprehensive policies related to eco-agriculture; Mozambican policies mainly focus on equity and involvement of disadvantaged social groups, while Eswatini is conspicuous for explicitly making it the responsibility of each citizen to protect and safeguard the environment. The protection of conservation areas is critical to preserving natural habitats and ensuring the continued provision of ecosystem services. The lack of transboundary governance structures results in the Lubombo TFCA existing as a treaty on paper, as there are no clear processes for transboundary cooperation and collaboration.

The Paris Agreement calls for limiting global warming below 2°C. The “4 per 1,000 Initiative: Soils for food security and climate” was launched in 2015 to increase soil organic carbon sequestration with three objectives: mitigation of climate change, adaptation to climate change and improved food security. One of the challenges of the Initiative relates to its feasibility in contrasted biophysical, social and economic environments, questioning the adoption rate of required new practices. We conducted participatory multi-stakeholder workshops in France and Senegal to collect knowledge and perception of farmers, NGOs, agro-industries, administrations, donors and researchers on barriers and coping strategies for 4 per 1,000 innovations. Results in both countries reveal the predominance of social and economic barriers such as lack of knowledge or training, increased difficulties of fieldwork, workload, risk handling, funding and social pressure. Biophysical constraints such as limited potential of soil organic matter storage or rainfall scarcity and variability appear more important in Senegal. Identified actions to foster the sequestration of soil carbon call for an improved policy context leading to innovations in land planning, stakeholder communication, demonstration facilities, capacity building or financial support. Fewer constraints and coping strategies mention technical issues, showing that fostering agricultural soil carbon sequestration is more a question of enabling environment than technical innovations or farmers' willingness for change. We conclude that actions to support the 4 per 1,000 Initiative need to include a variety of stakeholders such as extension services, private sector, civil society, local institutions, policy makers, consumers, and not only farmers.

New programs promoting agroforestry have emerged since the 2000s claiming a contribution to farmers' resilience. The objective of this study is to analyse the evolution of the value chain governance and its implications in terms of farmers' vulnerability reduction. The results are based on a detailed analysis of some thirty programs implemented by the firms holding the majority of market shares in cocoa and coffee sectors, a dozen of semi-structured interviews conducted with these firms, and farm level field surveys in Peru and Nicaragua. Our results show that cocoa and coffee sectors are facing new challenges on both the demand and supply sides : (1) there is an increasing demand for better quality products ; (2) the security of supply is threatened. This changing context is redefining the governance of cocoa and coffee value chains : industries downstream are developing partnerships with actors upstream to increase their control over their supply leading to an increased vertical coordination. Firm's position on the market determines the choice of coordination and agroforestry model to implement. The more the firms are positioned in niche markets, the more the link with the producer is essential and the more agroforestry is a central element of the partnership developed. Two key results emerged : (1) traders are becoming a key factor for the success of sustainable partnerships and (2) contract farming is creating an opportunity for more created shared value at farmers' scale.

The 4 parts per thousand initiative launched by the French government at COP21 in Paris in December 2015 aspires to increase global soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks at a rate of 0.4% per year. We conducted a systematic literature review on SOC storage under agroforestry and conservation agriculture systems in sub-Saharan Africa, where we reported 66 and 33 cases for both systems respectively. The results showed that SOC storage rates were significantly higher than 4 parts per thousand yr(-1) in fallows and in multistrata agroforestry systems (P = 0.0001 and 0.0178, respectively), but not in alley cropping and parklands systems. For conservation agriculture, SOC storage rates were only significantly higher than 4 parts per thousand yr(-1) (P = 0.0438) when all three principles were applied, i.e. no- or minimum tillage combined with crop residue retention and intercropping or rotation. The data showed very large variability in SOC storage rates as the result of various factors, including previous land-use history, experimental set up and approach used to determine SOC storage (diachronic versus synchronic approach), soil type, depth of soil sampling, type of crops and management, and duration of the experiment. SOC storage rates significantly decreased with time in the agroforestry systems (P = 0.0328). However, we were unable to find significant relationships with initial SOC stocks or tree density. Given the limited published data and the high variability in results, no significant relationships between SOC storage rates and site variables were found for conservation agriculture. We argue that there is a potential for SOC storage in agricultural soils of sub-Saharan Africa, as illustrated by SOC gaps observed on smallholder farms. Low SOC levels are, however, to a great extent the result of limited resources of most smallholder farmers. Practices such as agroforestry and conservation agriculture can restore SOC in these soils, but the 4 parts per thousand initiative has to be implemented on the grounds of the positive impact on crop productivity rather than on climate change mitigation. The efficiency in doing so will depend on the specific situations and will need economic support to smallholder farmers, including the promotion of good markets for sale of extra produce and for input supply, effective private support and policy, such as credit schemes and subsidies for inputs, and efficient extension services which incentivize farmers to invest in new technologies.

At the 21st session of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, COP21), a voluntary action plan, the '4 per 1000 Initiative: Soils for Food Security and Climate' was proposed under the Agenda for Action. The Initiative underlines the role of soil organic matter (SOM) in addressing the three-fold challenge of food and nutritional security, adaptation to climate change and mitigation of human-induced greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions. It sets an ambitious aspirational target of a 4 per 1000 (i.e. 0.4%) rate of annual increase in global soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks, with a focus on agricultural lands where farmers would ensure the carbon stewardship of soils, like they manage day-to-day multipurpose production systems in a changing environment. In this paper, the opportunities and challenges for the 4 per 1000 initiative are discussed. We show that the 4 per 1000 target, calculated relative to global top soil SOC stocks, is consistent with literature estimates of the technical potential for SOC sequestration, though the achievable potential is likely to be substantially lower given socio-economic constraints. We calculate that land-based negative emissions from additional SOC sequestration could significantly contribute to reducing the anthropogenic CO2 equivalent emission gap identified from Nationally Determined Contributions pledged by countries to stabilize global warming levels below 2 degrees C or even 1.5 degrees C under the Paris agreement on climate. The 4 per 1000 target could be implemented by taking into account differentiated SOC stock baselines, reversing the current trend of huge soil CO2 losses, e.g. from agriculture encroaching peatland soils. We further discuss the potential benefits of SOC stewardship for both degraded and healthy soils along contrasting spatial scales (field, farm, landscape and country) and temporal (year to century) horizons. Last, we present some of the implications relative to non-CO2 GHGs emissions, water and nutrients use as well as co-benefits for crop yields and climate change adaptation. We underline the considerable challenges associated with the non-permanence of SOC stocks and show how the rates of adoption and the duration of improved soil management practices could alter the global impacts of practices under the 4 per 1000 initiative. We conclude that the 4 per 1000 initiative has potential to support multiple sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. It can be regarded as no-regret since increasing SOC in agricultural soils will contribute to food security benefits that will enhance resilience to climate change. However, social, economic and environmental safeguards will be needed to ensure an equitable and sustainable implementation of the 4 per 1000 target.

Modern agroforestry emerged in the 70's as an answer to the disappearance of tropical rainforests. To improve land management, it was felt necessary to combine crops, trees and animals and apply management practices compatible with the cultural patterns of the local population. Yet, today's agroforestry relies often on simplified associations of one crop and one tree species. Such associations ignore the “forest dimension” of agroforestry and fail to restore forest-like ecosystems and promote local cultural values. I argue that between the 2 extremes of “forest gardening” and a simplified two-plant association, there is a continuum of multilayer agroforestry options with environmental attributes close to natural ecosystems, management features compatible with existing practices and productive qualities comparable if not better than simplified associations. I provide examples from Indonesia (multistrata agroforests in Sumatra), Egypt (multilayer agriculture in the Nile Delta), Cameroon (cocoa agroforests near Yaounde) and Bangladesh (agroforestry gardens near Rajsahi). They show that multilayer agroforestry has a range of sustainability attributes and performs well for soil carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation. If agroforestry is to play its role to address environmental and climate change challenges and diversify land-based commodities, it needs to learn from complex agroforestry associations and recommend them as viable alternatives to industrial agriculture.

It was April 1985, under the leadership of Dr. Ir. Z. Goto, then Tropical Forest Biology Program Manager, that it was decided to launch in BIOTROP a multidisciplinary research on Shorea javanica. This followed the publication in 1984 by E.F. Torquebiau of a paper describing the traditional planting of this tree for resin production by farmers near the small town of Krui, in Lampung Province, Southern Sumatra (Man-made dipterocarp forest in Sumatra. Agroforestry Systems, 2: 103-127). A proposal was subsequently made to develop in BIOTROP different research topics around this species in order to promote it for plantation forestry. The choice of this species was justified by the important knowledge from its traditional uses and planting, while in the long term, it is hoped that the development of plantations of this species will promote the use of other dipterocarps and native trees for plantation forestry.

Chapter 11 explores the multilevel climate policy mechanisms for Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture and climate adaptation. This chapter analyses the existing international, national and regional policies that exist to support and enable farmers to achieve adoption of sustainable intensification and climate smart agriculture. The chapter reviews agricultural adaptation under the UNFCCC and Paris Accord, which is placing an increasing focus on adaptation at a national level through Nationally Determined Actions, and funding from the Green Climate Fund. The chapter also analyses the adequacy of international policy mechanisms to ensure that smallholder farmers can sustainably intensify their agricultural production, without adverse effects on social and economic factors, or the environment. The chapter discusses the national and regional policies that exist to connect the international policies and funding mechanisms, to the local level adaptation practices. Finally, the chapter shows the interplay between these differing levels of governance and their potential for agricultural adaptation and sustainable intensification.

Agriculture et changement climatique : un mariage de raison inéluctableAgriculture and climate change: an unavoidable marriage of convenience Depuis décembre 2015 et l'organisation à Paris de la 21 e conférence des parties de la Convention-cadre des Nations unies sur les changements climatiques (COP 21, CCNUCC), la planète climat n'est plus tout à fait la même.L'accord international sur le climat signé lors de cette conférence, fixant comme objectif une limitation du réchauffement mondial entre 1,5 °C et 2 °C d'ici 2100, est un évènement majeur.L'histoire dira si le monde est capable de tenir cet engagement, mais le cinquième rapport du Groupe d'experts intergouvernemental sur l'évolution du climat (GIEC), paru en 2014, qui prévoit une hausse des températures de 0,3 à 4,8 °C d'ici 2100, est lui sans appel.Personne ne pourra dire « on ne savait pas ».En France, les scientifiques s'étaient mobilisés bien avant la COP 21 sur les questions climatiques.Dans le secteur de l'usage des terres notamment, une Conférence internationale sur l'agriculture « intelligente » face au climat (Climate-smart agriculture) avait été organisée à Montpellier en mars 2015, réunissant plus de 750 participants venus de 75 pays.En juillet 2015 à Paris, c'est la conférence « Our Common Future Under Climate Change » qui réunissait plus de 2200 participants de 100 pays.Lors de ces évènements importants, les participants ont fait des propositions ayant pour but d'alimenter les débats de la COP 21 et ainsi de permettre que soit signé un accord bien informé.L'apparition de la sécurité alimentaire dans l'accord de Paris n'est sans doute pas étrangère à cette mobilisation (alors que les négociations climatiques dans le secteur de l'usage des terres peinaient jusque-là à reconnaître l'importance de l'agriculture et ciblaient essentiellement les forêts).En 2017, lors de la COP 23, la boucle est bouclée avec l'adoption d'une recommandation sur la vulnérabilité de l'agriculture face au changement climatique et la prise en compte de la sécurité alimentaire.Cette recommandation cite notamment l'adaptation de l'agriculture, la résilience, le rôle du carbone du sol, l'importance des nutriments, la place de l'élevage et les dimensions socio-économiques de ces approches.Le monde agricole se trouve ainsi au coeur d'une partie de billard à 3 bandes : l'agriculture subit les effets du changement climatique, souvent de manière dramatique, notamment dans les pays tropicaux ; l'agriculture est en partie responsable du changement climatique (24 % des émissions de gaz à effet de serre, en incluant les changements d'usage des terres qui sont liés) ; l'agriculture peut contribuer à atténuer le changement climatique en fixant du carbone dans le sol et la biomasse.Sur ce dernier point, les chiffres montrent qu'une augmentation moyenne annuelle de 4 ‰ (4 pour mille, ou 0,4 %) du taux de carbone de tous les sols de la planète pourrait compenser les émissions de gaz à effet de serre dues à l'homme.Lancé comme un défi aux chercheurs lors de la conférence « Climate-Smart Agriculture » de mars 2015 à Montpellier, ce taux de 4 pour 1000 est devenu un slogan et définit un cap à suivre.L'Initiative « 4 pour 1000 » sera officiellement lancée lors de la COP 21 à Paris, puis prendra forme avec une gouvernance spécifique lors de la COP 22 de Marrakech.Un consortium des membres (149 adhésions fin 2017) définit des orientations et est adossé à un forum (281 membres fin 2017), qui réunit tous types de parties prenantes des secteurs publics et privés.Un conseil scientifique et technique regroupant des chercheurs du monde entier examine les projets de l'initiative.À l'origine de la conférence de mars 2015, le concept de « Climate-Smart Agriculture », perçu par certains comme l'explicitation d'un cadre permettant de traiter les questions entre agriculture et climat, par d'autres comme lié aux agro-industries et vecteur de comportements opportunistes, fait l'objet de nombreux débats.Son utilité est conditionnée par la capacité à dépasser une approche exclusivement techniciste et à intégrer les dimensions sociales, territoriales et écologiques des transformations en cours, mais surtout à constituer un cadre renouvelé d'évaluation des performances des pratiques agricoles.De son côté, l'importance du carbone du sol semble faire l'unanimité et s'est donc révélé mobilisatrice.Il n'empêche que le slogan « 4 pour mille » soulève de nombreuses questions.Elles portent tout d'abord sur la prise en compte des dynamiques de stockage dans la durée ou encore sur les potentiels et dynamiques différenciés d'un lieu à l'autre.Elles invitent en outre à ne pas faire l'impasse sur les émissions d'oxyde nitreux (N 2 O) et de méthane (CH 4 ) et sur les liens directs et indirects entre ces émissions et le stockage de carbone.Toutes les approches doivent en outre accorder une attention particulière à l'adaptation au changement climatique, dès lors qu'il est question d'atténuation, pour recevoir un accueil favorable de la part des agriculteurs, notamment ceux du Sud.Les articles présentés dans le numéro thématique des Cahiers Agricultures « Les agricultures face au changement climatique » reflètent l'évolution de ces débats sur les liens entre agriculture et changement climatique depuis 2015, en lien avec les évolutions des injonctions et de l'agenda politiques.Les auteurs montrent que le changement climatique pose des questions inédites

In the literature, a lot of information is available about climate change perceptions and impacts in sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is limited attention in the region to emerging initiatives, technologies and policies that are tailored to building the adaptive capacity of agricultural systems to climate change and variability. In this paper, we discuss the prospects for climate-smart agriculture technologies and enabling policies in dealing with climate change and variability at different sub-regional levels of sub-Saharan Africa to sustain farm productivity and livelihoods of agrarian communities. The review provides substantial information suggesting that without appropriate interventions, climate change and variability will affect agricultural yields, food security and add to the presently unaceptable levels of poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. Although some of them were already existing, the past decades have seen the development and promotion of climate-smart agriculture innovations such as the use of high yielding drought tolerant crop varieties, climate information services, agricultural insurance, agroforestry, water harvesting techniques, integrated soil fertility management practices, etc. In the context of climate change, this appears as a stepping up approach to sustainably improving farm productivity, rural livelihoods and adaptive capacity of farmers and production systems while contributing to mitigation. The development of regional, sub-regional and national climate change policies and plans targeted at mitigating climate change and improving adaptive capacity of the African people have also been developed to enable mainstreaming of climate-smart agriculture into agricultural development plans. Financial commitments from governments and development agencies will be crucial for improving large scale adoption of climate-smart agriculture.

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is an approach to help agricultural systems worldwide, concurrently addressing three challenge areas: increased adaptation to climate change, mitigation of climate change, and ensuring global food security – through innovative policies, practices, and financing. It involves a set of objectives and multiple transformative transitions for which there are newly identified knowledge gaps. We address these questions raised by CSA within three areas: conceptualization, implementation, and implications for policy and decision-makers. We also draw up scenarios on the future of the CSA concept in relation to the 4 per 1000 Initiative (Soils for Food Security and Climate) launched at UNFCCC 21st Conference of the Parties (COP 21). Our analysis shows that there is still a need for further interdisciplinary research on the theoretical foundation of the CSA concept and on the necessary transformations of agriculture and land use systems. Contrasting views about implementation indicate that CSA focus on the “triple win” (adaptation, mitigation, food security) needs to be assessed in terms of science-based practices. CSA policy tools need to incorporate an integrated set of measures supported by reliable metrics. Environmental and social safeguards are necessary to make sure that CSA initiatives conform to the principles of sustainability, both at the agriculture and food system levels.

English version of the articleL’adaptation au changement climatique et son atténuation comptent parmi les principaux défis que doit relever l’agriculture. Au Sud, ces défis s’associent à un impératif de sécurité alimentaire. L’arrivée du changement climatique sur l’agenda international a favorisé le recyclage d’une multitude d’initiatives visant à y faire face avec, en corolaire, l’apparition de nombreuses controverses. Or, même si les échelles et les acteurs visés peuvent différer, toutes ces initiatives tentent d’une façon ou d’une autre de fournir des options techniques, sociales, économiques et politiques pour accroitre la résilience de l’agriculture face au changement climatique. Trois approches sont fortement débattues et portent sur ces relations entre l’agriculture et le climat : l’agriculture climato-intelligente, l’agroécologie et l’initiative 4 pour 1000 relative au carbone du sol. Au-delà des divergences conceptuelles et des interprétations parfois partisanes entre ces trois approches, l’agriculture des pays du Sud doit pouvoir bénéficier de leurs synergies potentielles.

Version française de l'articleAdaptation to climate change and its mitigation are some of the biggest challenges facing agriculture. In the global South, these challenges are associated with the need for food security. The arrival of climate change on the international agenda has prompted the recycling of a multitude of initiatives to address this problem, leading inevitably to the emergence of numerous controversies. However, although the scales and actors targeted may differ, all of these initiatives are trying in one way or another to provide technical, social, economic and political options to increase the climate resilience of agriculture. There is heated debate about three approaches, which focus on these relationships between agriculture and climate: climate-smart agriculture, agroecology and the 4 per 1000 Initiative on soil carbon. Beyond the conceptual differences and the sometimes partisan interpretations of these three approaches, agriculture in the Southern countries needs to take advantage of their potential synergies.

Stakeholder engagement has become an important aspect of sustainable natural resources management. This study analysed a landscape performance assessment by local and 'external' stakeholders in a transfrontier conservation area in Southern Africa. The landscape was divided into three agro-ecological zones and focus group discussions were facilitated for stakeholders to evaluate the landscape based on four ecoagriculture dimensions (production, conservation, livelihoods and institutions). The conservation dimension showed the best performance and the overall score for the landscape was 2.97, implying a fairly good performance. Perceptions and ratings did not significantly differ by age, gender or stakeholder groups. We conclude that despite their low levels of formal education and training, communal farmers can assess the performance of local landscapes in a consistent way. This study provides information about the degree to which the landscape under focus conformed to the main ecoagriculture goals and can guide development planning and extension service provision.

The objectives of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) are to be adapted to climate change and mitigate it, while sustainably contributing to food security. The concept emerged in 2010 at FAO and has now become popular. Different CSA practices can be found today and integrate its objectives differently. Agroecological practices aiming for a permanent soil cover, either with trees or crops, are among the most common CSA practices. CSA is also a wider approach allowing taking into account the challenge of climate change with innovative public policies and financing. Because it is defined by its objectives and not by the means to reach those objectives, the concept of CSA has also been questioned, especially regarding the possibility to reach its three objectives simultaneously and because of the risks to promote disguised productivism that would not respect the environment or the farmers. The 4% initiative << Soils for Food Security and Climate >> takes up the objectives of CSA and emphasizes the mitigation of climate change by increasing the carbon content of the soil. While the CSA concept has yet to prove itself, it is an innovative, climate-friendly approach to agriculture that is compatible with the challenges of climate change.

"Multifunctional agriculture – achieving sustainable development in Africa." Forests, Trees and Livelihoods, 26(4), pp. 286–287