Agroforestry Trees for Fodder Production in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

Climate change and land degradation, resulting from human-induced pressures on ecosystems are threatening crop productivity, food and feed supply, and food security in the Limpopo Province of South Africa, especially within the socio-economically marginalised communities. A combination of survey and field experimentations were conducted from 2016 to 2018 to assess potential climate-smart farming practices that can assist farmers to adapt to local climate change and variability in the province. Results from the survey revealed that agroforestry system with woody perennial speices which encourages minimum soil disturbance, increase soil cover and increase agrobiodiversity is being promoted in the province as one of the effective avenues to achieve sustainability in farming systems in the midst of global climate change. Moringa oleifera and Acacia karroo (now Vachellia karroo) were identified as potential agroforestry tree species to address feed gaps during dry winter months, based on their good nutritional value, drought hardiness and effective carbon capture for climate change mitigation.