Climate change is real and happening in East African countries including Ethiopia and Kenya. Climate change is manifested in the recurrent drought, floods, and famine that have threatened millions of people and livestock in recent decades. Subsistence farming practices are the main livelihood for most people living in this region, which is characterized by degraded soils, small farm sizes, and low agriculture outputs. Agroforestry, which is an ecologically based traditional farming practice, integrates trees into the farming systems to increase agricultural productivity and ameliorate soil fertility, control erosion, conserve biodiversity, and diversify income for households and communities. In early 2011, Oregon State University was invited by the World Agroforestry Center to renew institutional collaboration for student and faculty exchanges, exchange scientific information, and to collaborate in agroforestry research and outreach. As part of this initiative an Agroforestry synthesis paper was proposed on farmers’ adaptation and mitigation to climate variability and change through agroforestry practices in Ethiopia and Kenya. The purpose of the synthesis paper was to document traditional and scientific knowledge on how farmers cope with climate variability and change. Four case studies were identified from highland farming and dryland pastoral systems in both Ethiopia and Kenya.

Type of Case
Printed publication (book, sourcebook, journal article…)

Publisher
Oregon State University

Region
Africa

Biome
Tropical

Forest Type
All forest types (natural and planted)

Primary Designated Function
All