Agroforestry poised to grow economy and save water

Abstract

AGRICULTURAL WATER Competition for resources, particularly water, is central to the ongoing fight for survival. Without water, there’s simply no arable land and, therefore, no food. That’s why the Water Research Commission (WRC) is behind research by Dr Colin Everson, senior scientist at Environmentek CSIR, and his team on The Effect of the Introduction of Agroforestry Species on the Soil Moisture Regime of Traditional Cropping Systems in Rural Areas (WRC Report No. 780/1/02). Winter is dry in the Upper Thukela region of KwaZulu-Natal. Farmers find this a particularly difficult season as, without adequate rainfall, they suffer shortages of fodder, land and water. Agroforestry – the planting of “fodder trees” beside the traditional maize crop – may solve problems associated with the feeding and productivity of dairy cattle but agroforestry could also place undue stress on the precious water resource. “Efforts to introduce agroforestry systems to small-scale farmers in the Upper Thukela region have largely been delayed in the past.

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