Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v3 - Senior Secondary 2
Agro-forestry Practices in Nigeria
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Agro-forestry Practices in Nigeria
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Subject: Agricultural Science
Class: Senior Secondary 2
Term: 3rd Term
Week: 1
Theme: Forestry
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Explain the meaning of agro – for estry. Discuss different agro-for estry combinations. enumerate different tree species for in clusion in agro-for estry practices.
fuelwood, timber, shade.
6. Tectona grandis (Teak): Characteristics: Deciduous, large leaves, high-quality timber.
Uses: Agri-silvicultural systems (Taungya), timber production, shade.
7. Gmelina arborea (Gmelina): Characteristics: Fast-growing, straight bole, relatively easy to establish.
Uses: Agri-silvicultural systems (Taungya), pulpwood, timber, fuelwood.
8. Parkia biglobosa (African Locust Bean/Dorowa in Hausa, Igba in Yoruba): Characteristics: Large, deciduous, multi-purpose tree.
Uses: Food (fermented seeds 'daddawa', fruit pulp), fodder, fuelwood, medicinal. Often preserved in agricultural fields.
9. Adansonia digitata (Baobab/Kuka in Hausa, Ose in Yoruba): Characteristics: Long-lived, large trunk, drought-tolerant.
Uses: Food (leaves, fruit pulp, seeds), medicinal, fodder, fuelwood, water storage. Common in dry savannahs.
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0. Irvingia gabonensis (Bush Mango/Ogbono in Igbo, Apon in Yoruba): Characteristics: Indigenous fruit tree, source of edible seeds.
Uses: Food (seeds for soup thickening), timber, traditional medicine. Often found in homegardens and cultivated fields.
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1. Butyrospermum paradoxum (Shea Butter Tree/Kadanya in Hausa, Ori in Yoruba): Characteristics: Slow-growing, drought-tolerant, vital economic tree.
Uses: Edible fat (shea butter), medicinal, traditional uses, fuelwood. Mostly found in guinea savannah.
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2. Elaeis guineensis (Oil Palm/Ede in Igbo, Igi-Epo in Yoruba): Characteristics: Perennial, economic importance.
Uses: Food (palm oil, palm kernel oil, palm wine), building materials (fronds), traditional uses. Common in southern Nigeria, integrated into compound farms and mixed farms.
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3. Moringa oleifera (Moringa/Zogale in Hausa, Ewe Iyana-Ipaja in Yoruba): Characteristics: Fast-growing, highly nutritious.
Uses: Food (leaves, pods), medicinal, water purification, fodder. Often planted in homegardens.
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4. Khaya grandifoliola (African Mahogany/Oganwo in Yoruba): Characteristics: Large, deciduous tree, highly valued timber.
Uses: Timber, shade, boundary planting.
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5. Terminalia superba (Afara in Yoruba, Edo in Igbo): Characteristics: Fast-growing timber species.
Uses: Timber, shade. --- 2.
1. Meaning of Agro-forestry Agro-forestry is a collective name for land-use systems and technologies where woody perennials (trees, shrubs, palms, bamboos) are deliberately used on the same land management unit as agricultural crops and/or animals, either in some form of spatial arrangement or temporal sequence. In an agro-forestry system, there are both ecological and economic interactions between the different components.
Key characteristics of agro-forestry: Presence of Trees: It always involves two or more species of plants, at least one of which is a woody perennial.
Simultaneous/Sequential Management: It involves two or more outputs, either managed simultaneously or sequentially.
Long-term Cycle: The cycle of at least one component is more than one year.
Complex Interactions: There are both ecological and economic interactions between the different components.
Multiple Benefits: It aims to achieve multiple benefits such as increased productivity, enhanced soil fertility, diversified income, and improved environmental services.
Example: A farmer in Oyo State plants maize and cassava in between rows of young Gmelina arborea trees, which will later be harvested for timber. This is an agro-forestry system as it combines annual crops with woody perennials on the same land. 2.
2. Different Agro-forestry Combinations (Systems) Agro-forestry systems are broadly classified based on their functional components.
The three main categories are: A. Agri-silvicultural Systems (Trees + Crops) These systems combine the production of annual or perennial agricultural crops with forest trees.
1. Taungya System: Explanation: This is a method of establishing forest plantations by permitting farmers to cultivate agricultural crops simultaneously with the forest seedlings during the initial years of tree establishment. Farmers are allowed to use the land, clear it, plant their crops, and tend to the tree seedlings. Once the tree canopy closes and crops can no longer thrive, the farmers move to a new site.
Nigerian Context: Widely practiced in southern Nigeria for establishing plantations of Gmelina arborea and Tectona grandis (Teak). Farmers typically intercrop with short-duration crops like maize, cassava, yam, and vegetables.
Benefits: Reduces plantation establishment costs for forest agencies, provides food and income for farmers, aids in weeding and fire protection for young trees.
2. Alley Cropping: Explanation: Food crops are grown in alleys (spaces) between rows of planted trees or shrubs, usually leguminous species. The trees are regularly pruned, and their foliage is used as green manure (mulch) for the crops, providing nutrients and organic matter.
Nigerian Context: Common with leguminous trees like Leucaena leucocephala and Gliricidia sepium planted at specific spacings (e.g., 4-6m apart) with crops such as maize, cassava, cowpea, or soybean grown in the alleys.
Benefits: Improves soil fertility (nitrogen fixation, organic matter), reduces weed growth, provides fodder, fuelwood, and staking material.
3. Shelterbelts/Windbreaks: Explanation: Rows of trees are planted around agricultural fields or homesteads to protect crops, livestock, and soil from strong winds, erosion, and desiccation.
Nigerian Context: Crucial in the semi-arid northern regions (e.g., Kano, Katsina, Borno) to combat desert encroachment and protect crops like millet, sorghum, and groundnuts. Common species include Azadirachta indica (Neem), Acacia nilotica, and Eucalyptus camaldulensis.
Benefits: Reduces wind speed, minimizes soil erosion, lowers evapo-transpiration from crops, provides shade, and offers fuelwood.
4. Boundary Planting: Explanation: Trees are planted along farm boundaries or property lines. These trees can serve as markers, provide fruits, timber, or act as live fences.
Nigerian Context: Farmers often plant fruit trees like mango, cashew, or oil palm, or timber species like Khaya spp. (Mahogany) along boundaries.
Benefits: Land demarcation, source of food/income, fuelwood, timber, privacy. B. Silvo-pastoral Systems (Trees + Pasture/Livestock) These systems combine forest trees with pasture and livestock production.
1. Trees on Rangelands/Pastures: Explanation: Trees are integrated into grazing lands, providing shade and browse (foliage eaten by animals) for livestock.
Nigerian Context: Common in the savannah regions where pastoralists graze cattle, sheep, and goats under scattered trees like Faidherbia albida, Acacia tortilis, and Adansonia digitata (Baobab). These trees provide fodder, especially during the dry season.
Benefits: Provides shade for animals, reduces heat stress, offers supplementary feed (browse), improves soil fertility under tree canopy, and provides timber/fuelwood.
2. Fodder Banks: * Explanation: Dedicated trees with pasture and livestock production.
1. Trees on Rangelands/Pastures: Explanation: Trees are integrated into grazing lands, providing shade and browse (foliage eaten by animals) for livestock.
Nigerian Context: Common in the savannah regions where pastoralists graze cattle, sheep, and goats under scattered trees like Faidherbia albida, Acacia tortilis, and Adansonia digitata (Baobab). These trees provide fodder, especially during the dry season.
Benefits: Provides shade for animals, reduces heat stress, offers supplementary feed (browse), improves soil fertility under tree canopy, and provides timber/fuelwood.
2. Fodder Banks: Explanation: Dedicated plots of high-protein fodder trees or shrubs are established and managed specifically for feeding livestock.
Nigerian Context: Farmers might establish plots of Leucaena leucocephala, Gliricidia sepium, or Moringa oleifera to supplement the diet of goats, sheep, or cattle, especially during feed scarcity.
Benefits: High-quality protein source for livestock, reduces reliance on expensive commercial feeds, improves animal health and productivity. C. Agri-silvo-pastoral Systems (Trees + Crops + Pasture/Livestock) These are complex systems that integrate all three components: trees, crops, and livestock.
Explanation: This system involves growing crops, raising livestock, and cultivating trees on the same piece of land, either simultaneously or sequentially, to optimize land use and provide multiple benefits.
Nigerian Context: Many traditional Nigerian homegardens or compound farms exhibit characteristics of this system, where fruit trees (mango, oil palm), vegetables (pepper, okra), and small livestock (poultry, goats) are managed around homesteads. It can also be seen in integrated farms where alley cropping is combined with small ruminant rearing.
Benefits: Maximum land utilization, diversified production (food, fodder, fuelwood, timber, animal products), enhanced nutrient cycling, reduced risk of complete crop failure, and increased farm resilience.
D. Other Specialized Agro-forestry Systems
1. Homegardens/Compound Farms: Explanation: Complex, multi-story systems around homes, integrating trees (fruit, timber), shrubs, vegetables, and often small livestock.
Nigerian Context: Very common across all ecological zones, providing food, income, medicinal plants, and cultural significance. Examples include a typical family compound with mango, citrus, kola nuts, plantain, yam, cocoyam, and chickens.
Benefits: High productivity on small areas, food security, biodiversity conservation, aesthetic value, waste recycling.
2. Improved Fallows: Explanation: Fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing trees or shrubs are planted during the fallow period to rapidly restore soil fertility before crops are replanted.
Nigerian Context: Used in shifting cultivation areas to shorten the fallow period. Species like Sesbania sesban or Tephrosia vogelii can quickly enrich the soil.
Benefits: Rapid soil fertility restoration, reduced need for inorganic fertilizers, provides fuelwood. 2.
3. Different Tree Species for Inclusion in Agro-forestry Practices The choice of tree species depends on the ecological zone, the specific agro-forestry system, and the desired products/services. Below are common and useful tree species in Nigeria for agro-forestry:
1. Leucaena leucocephala (Leucaena/Epaile in Yoruba): Characteristics: Fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing legume, drought-tolerant.
Uses: Alley cropping (green manure), fodder for livestock, fuelwood, small poles, soil erosion control.
2. Gliricidia sepium (Gliricidia/Uturugo in Igbo): Characteristics: Fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing legume, tolerates pruning.
Uses: Alley cropping (green manure), fodder, live fences, fuelwood, medicinal uses, soil improvement.
3. Acacia nilotica (Bagaruwa in Hausa): Characteristics: Thorny, drought-resistant, nitrogen-fixing.
Uses: Shelterbelts, windbreaks, fodder (pods/leaves), fuelwood, timber, gum arabic production, soil stabilization in arid regions.
4. Faidherbia albida (Gao in Hausa): Characteristics: Unique reverse phenology (sheds leaves during rainy season, leafs during dry season), nitrogen-fixing.
Uses: Silvo-pastoral systems (provides shade and fodder when other trees are leafless), soil enrichment, fuelwood, timber. Critical in Sahelian regions.
5. Azadirachta indica (Neem/Dogon Yaro in Hausa): Characteristics: Fast-growing, drought-resistant, pest-repellent properties.
Uses: Shelterbelts, windbreaks, medicinal purposes (leaves, bark), insecticide production, fuelwood, timber, shade.
6. Tectona grandis (Teak): Characteristics: Deciduous, large leaves, high-quality timber.
Uses: Agri-silvicultural systems (Taungya), timber production, shade.
7. Gmelina arborea (Gmelina): Characteristics: Fast-growing, straight bole, relatively easy to establish.
Uses: Agri-silvicultural systems (Taungya), pulpwood, timber, fuelwood.
8. Parkia biglobosa (African Locust Bean/Dorowa in Hausa, Igba in Yoruba): Characteristics: Large, deciduous, multi-purpose tree.
Uses: Food (fermented seeds 'daddawa', fruit pulp), fodder, fuelwood, medicinal. Often preserved in agricultural fields.
9. Adansonia digitata (Baobab/Kuka in Hausa, Ose in Yoruba): Characteristics: Long-lived, large trunk, drought-tolerant. * 3.
1. Teacher Activities Introduction (10 minutes): Begin by asking students to briefly describe their traditional farming practices. Project or draw pictures of different farming scenarios: a monocrop farm, a farm with scattered trees, a farm with animals grazing under trees, etc. Ask students to identify differences and potential benefits/drawbacks. Introduce the term "Agro-forestry" and its relevance to sustainable agriculture in Nigeria.
Explanation of Meaning (15 minutes): Define agro-forestry clearly, highlighting its core components (trees + crops and/or animals) and the interaction between them. Use local examples to illustrate the definition (e.g., a farmer growing yam with kola nut trees on the same plot). Write the definition on the board and ensure students take notes. Discussion of Agro-forestry Combinations (30 minutes): Introduce the three main categories: Agri-silvicultural, Silvo-pastoral, and Agri-silvo-pastoral systems. For each system, explain its definition and provide specific examples relevant to Nigeria: Agri-silvicultural: Explain Taungya system (e.g., Gmelina with maize/cassava in Cross River), Alley Cropping (Leucaena/Maize in Ibadan), Shelterbelts (Neem in Borno).
Silvo-pastoral: Explain trees on rangelands (Faidherbia albida with cattle in Kano), Fodder banks (Gliricidia for goats).
Agri-silvo-pastoral: Explain compound farms (e.g., a typical family compound in Awka with oil palm, plantain, yam, and chickens). Encourage questions and class discussions on observed practices in their communities.
Enumeration of Tree Species (25 minutes): Present a list of 10-15 suitable tree species, using charts or projected images if available. For each species, state its common name, botanical name, and 1-2 key uses/benefits in agro-forestry, emphasizing their relevance in different Nigerian ecological zones. Categorize them based on primary uses (e.g., nitrogen-fixing, timber, fruit, fodder). Relate species to the earlier discussed systems (e.g., Leucaena for alley cropping, Parkia biglobosa in traditional fields).
Activity & Consolidation (10 minutes): Divide students into small groups. Assign each group a specific agro-forestry system (e.g., Taungya, Alley Cropping) or an ecological zone.
Task: "Identify two tree species suitable for your assigned system/zone and briefly explain why." Review key terms and concepts through a quick Q&A session. 3.
2. Student Activities Participate in brainstorming and discussion on farming practices. Listen attentively and take notes on definitions and explanations. Engage in class discussions, ask questions, and share local examples from their communities. Participate in group activities to identify suitable tree species for different agro-forestry systems or ecological zones. Present their group findings to the class. Answer questions posed by the teacher for consolidation. ---
Enhancing Food Security and Livelihoods: Agro-forestry systems diversify farm produce. Nigerian farmers can harvest food crops (maize, yam), fruits (mango, bush mango, shea nuts), and animal products (meat, milk from livestock fed on fodder trees) from the same land unit. This multi-output approach provides a more stable income and reduces reliance on a single crop, which is crucial for rural households susceptible to market fluctuations or crop failures due to pests/diseases. For example, a farmer practicing alley cropping with Gliricidia and maize gets maize for food and income, plus fuelwood and green manure from Gliricidia. Environmental Conservation and Climate Change Mitigation: Agro-forestry plays a vital role in addressing pressing environmental issues in Nigeria.
Soil Fertility: Nitrogen-fixing trees (e.g., Leucaena, Gliricidia, Faidherbia) improve soil fertility, reducing the need for costly chemical fertilizers and enhancing long-term productivity, which is essential for sustainable agriculture.
Erosion Control: Trees act as natural barriers against soil erosion by wind (shelterbelts in the North, e.g., Neem) and water (contour planting in hilly areas), protecting valuable topsoil.
Biodiversity: Integrating trees into farmlands maintains local biodiversity, providing habitat for beneficial insects and wildlife.
Climate Change: Trees sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping to mitigate climate change. This is particularly relevant as Nigeria faces increasing impacts of climate change, such as desertification and unpredictable rainfall patterns. Sustainable Resource Management and Poverty Alleviation: By integrating trees, agro-forestry provides multiple products like fuelwood, timber (for construction or furniture), medicinal plants, and non-timber forest products (e.g., daddawa from Parkia biglobosa seeds, shea butter from Butyrospermum paradoxum). This reduces pressure on natural forests, promotes sustainable harvesting, and creates additional income-generating opportunities for smallholder farmers, thereby contributing to poverty alleviation in rural areas. ---