Agroforestry Current agroforestry and forestry land use options include: Boundary planting Homestead planting Dispersed interplanting Fruit orchard: Mango Fruit orchard: Cashew Technical specifications for these systems are available in the document library.	A planted mashamba
Homestead planting, November 2006	Mango grafting, March 2005

Tree planting

Trees are planted for timber, fruits, bee fodder, live fences and shade, and planting trees which are useful means they are more likely to be well maintained. It changes resource use by shifting it from the forest (for example fuelwood can be obtained from the pruned branches from the trees instead of the forest). Trees can be planted in woodlots which can be harvested on a sustainable rotation, or they can be coppiced to provide firewood regularly for example. Fruit orchards are a particularly economically beneficial land use option. In just 5 years mango trees begin to produce fruit.

Calendar showing planting seasons

This calendar was produced by a community member during a consultation process. In order to gain understanding of how the project will influence the community and how it will compliment or interrupt their current schedule information was gathered about activities within the village. Activities included planting farms and harvesting crops. Information about the seasons in the area are also detailed on this calendar.

Agroforestry

Nitrogen fixing trees which also have high growth rates are used - including: Sebania, Gliricidia, Tephrosia, Albizia, Dalbergia and Erythrophleum. These enrich crops and do not exhaust fragile soil, prevent soil erosion and maintain watershed management. Trees also provide shade for crops and reduce evaporation of water from the soil. See other activities for further information. Crop yields can also be increased if nitrogen fixing crops such as pigeon pea are grown with the traditional maize and sorghum for example. Other common combinations include pigeon-pea (nitrogen fixing food crop) planted with Jatropha (a biodiesel producing tree).

Dispersed interplanting, November 2006	Pigeon pea intercropping - November 2004
Intercropping - November 2004	Papaya man showing off the new planting
Successful pigeon pea intercropping, April 2005	Sorghum and pigeon pea intercropping, April 2005
Sorting maize, May 2005	Sifting the rice harvest, May 2005

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