Agroforestry practices and agroforestry trees in guinean savannah: the case study of galim-tignere subdivision, Adamawa Region, Cameroon

The population explosion in developing countries leads to the loss of biodiversity and insufficient arable land. One of the challenges facing these countries is the production of sufficient food and fiber to meet the needs of their people. The objective of this study is to examine agroforestry practices and preferential agroforestry trees among farmers in the Galim-Tignere district in the Guinean Savannah of Cameroon. To do this, a participative and reiterative analysis using a structured questionnaire was conducted with 150 farms distributed in 9 villages. The results showed that five types of agroforestry systems such as homegardens, hedges/rows, trees on farmland, scattered trees on farmland and windbreaks were practiced. Preferred agroforestry trees are fruit trees such as Mangifera indica, Persea americana, Carica papaya, Citrus species, Psidiumguajava and some indigenous species such as Parkiabiglobosa, Tamarindusindica, Borassusaethiopum and Adansoniadigitata that are able to meet farmers needs in terms of food, fiber, financial contribution, environmental protection, shade and soil fertility improvement. The results of this study suggest that the agroforestry development is a possibility and a necessity. The system of agroforestry practices and the preferred agroforestry tree species offer enormous potential to increase food production and develop agroforestry practices in the study area. Agroforestry has potentials to improve agricultural land use systems and provide sustainable benefits to farmers.