News 6 of 17

Alain Olivier with Jean Sibiri Ouedraogo, a researcher at the Institut de l’environnement et de recherches agricoles (INERA) in Burkina Faso. (Photo courtesy of Alain Olivier)

Twenty years ago when Alain Olivier was a student of plant biology doing field work in West Africa, he learned two things from African farmers: the value of cultivating trees and crops together and the importance of looking beyond the limits of his discipline to take into account social science research. Today, Olivier is a professor of agroforestry at Université Laval, and has recently been honoured with Le Prix La Recherche (Environment category) for his interdisciplinary work.

The French science magazine La Recherche presented Olivier with the award in December 2004 for his work to understand how Sahelian farmers can best take advantage of environmentally beneficial trees growing in their fields. A €$10,000 (approximately CA$15, 900) cash prize was provided by the firm Veolia Environment.

Olivier’s contribution to his field is to have broken with purely biological and technical research to examine the many factors limiting the cultivation of trees with other crops. He worked with Canadian and African researchers from other disciplines including sociology, rural economy, anthropology, and geography.

Interdisciplinary research is not a new concept but it is still too rare, says Olivier. "People have the tendency to work in small groups in their discipline, without realizing that in this way they cannot see the complexity of things. In biophysical sciences, especially, few have made advances towards the social sciences."

Expanding research horizons

It is in the Sahel, a wide band of a dozen countries south of the Sahara, that Olivier first understood the importance of taking a multidisciplinary approach to his research.

Between 1986 and 1989, he traveled frequently to Burkina Faso and Mali to do research for his Master's and PhD degrees in plant biology at Université Laval. He was examining how to breed sorghum capable of resisting the effects of the parasitic plant witchweed (Striga hermonthica).

He saw that some farmers preferred a variety of sorghum that did not boast the highest yield. Olivier found this odd. He then learned that farmers liked this particular variety because they found it tastier and hardier. It could be relied on to grow even in times of drought, a heavy infestation of parasites, or in infertile soil — conditions that rendered higher-yield grains useless.

Up to this point, Oliver's research had been well within the bounds of agronomy. However, he started to realize that the problem he was seeking to solve was also about food quality and security — concepts within the purview of other disciplines.

Discovering agroforestry

In the Sahel, Olivier met farmers who were using traditional production practices in which valuable trees species are conserved in farmlands. This was Olivier’s first exposure to concepts that are encompassed by the relatively young science of agroforestry. [See related sidebar: The Science of Agroforestry]

"I saw the significance of trees in environmental terms and for the production of fodder, natural medicine, tannins, and wood used for cooking and building," he explains. For example, the nut of the shea tree is used to make soap and cosmetic products, the néré’s fruit is eaten, and the kad’s bark has healing properties. The trees’ roots stop soil erosion and their canopies moderate temperatures and shield plants from the sun. Trees draw nutrients from the soil that are too deep for other crops to reach and return the substances to the soil’s surface when their leaves fall.

Olivier was interested enough in agroforestry to specialize in it during his postdoctoral studies at the Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA), in France. "I liked the interdisciplinary approach that agroforestry takes and the way that agroforestry dealt with the gaps between forestry and agriculture," he says. [See related sidebar: Agroforestry in Canada]

In 1995, Olivier joined the Phytology Department of Université Laval’s Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences. He began to develop agroforestry applications in Canada but soon partnered with the World Agroforestry Centre, formerly known as the International Council for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), based in Kenya. With support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), in 1998 Olivier undertook a four-year, multidisciplinary research project in Burkina faso, Mali, and Senegal.

The project’s aim was to increase understanding of the social and economic constraints that influenced people’s decisions about whether or not to adopt traditional and newly innovated agroforestry technologies that could help to increase food security and fight desertification.

"IDRC was very important in supporting us with a multidisciplinary approach," says Olivier. "When we started this phase of research it was quite clear that it was very important to include social and economic research. We received very strong support from IDRC on this point," he says.

Building living fences

Much of Olivier’s research focuses on the relatively new idea of erecting fences made from live trees. Some sort of barrier is needed to protect crops from animals. Sheep, goats, and cows are set free to graze during the dry season because historically plots were not cultivated during this time. But demand from the ever-growing cities has led farmers to grow manioc (or cassava), a root crop which survives dry periods, as well as growing vegetables near sources of water.

Farmers cut down trees to build fences, contributing to deforestation. Moreover, these "dead fences" must be rebuilt every six months, which is time-consuming. In addition, crop residues such as dried cassava stems are often used in building "dead fences." When crop residues are removed, fields are depleted of a much-needed source of organic matter and exposed to erosion from wind and water.

The World Agroforestry Centre began promoting the use of living fences: trees planted close together to form an impenetrable barrier which also generates useful products and creates a nearby supply of wood. The solution, inspired by the use of a cactus-like bush to enclose fields in some regions, seems simple and appropriate. Some farmers have adopted it. But other farmers have not.

Why? This was the question Olivier wanted to study.

The answer he found is complex and involves social, geographic, and cultural factors. People in the study area are used to open territory. Whereas "dead fences" are temporary, a tree is seen as a permanent demarcation. This ruffles some village authorities, in particular those who live far away from the city and are not used to the individualization of land. As well, custom in the Sahel dictates that it is only those who have family rights to land who can plant a tree. If a person cultivating borrowed land does so, it is construed as an act of appropriation. Indeed, this right is often limited to the patriarch of the family, the eldest man. It is extremely rare for women to put a sapling in the earth because they seldom own land.

Considering the collective

The project’s findings clearly indicate that the promoters of living fences will achieve a greater rate of adoption if they seek collective approval at the village level. Up to now, the work of promoting the practice has been on an individual basis, Olivier says.

This is the kind of finding that can be missed with an approach to research that is too narrowly focused. "Farmers might not plant trees for the purpose of avoiding misunderstandings with their neighbours. Scientists involved in biophysical science can miss this kind of thing."

"Olivier’s research illustrated that cultural, socioeconomic, and policy factors play a crucial role in influencing the adoption of agroforestry-based options of production in the Sahel," says Innocent Butaré, a senior program officer in IDRC’s Regional Office for West and Central Africa. "It showed that forging links between farmers, researchers, agricultural extension workers, and policymakers is fundamentally important for increasing understanding, facilitating the process of scaling-up, and encouraging the adoption of agroforestry techniques."

With IDRC support, a second research project started in 1998. It went into a second phase in 2004. Researchers are further studying factors influencing the adoption of promising agroforestry techniques with the goal of improving adoption rates and therefore the socioeconomic and environmental wellbeing of rural households in the Sahel. The team, composed of Université Laval graduate students, World Agroforestry Centre staff, and researchers from the three countries involved will find out how farmers who do practice agroforestry further adapt the methods to suit local conditions and preferences. These adaptations will be documented and disseminated through partnerships with organizations that can reach rural areas as well as farmers’ organizations. Researchers are also looking at ways to address gender and policy issues.

The next generation

Olivier’s trips to Africa are fewer and for shorter periods of time at this stage in his career. From Québec City, he guides many students and researchers working in the Sahel. He has also discovered new rewards: teaching the next generation of agroforestry researchers and directing their thesis projects.

"I am really glad to be able to train enthusiastic students who want to work towards solutions to problems in southern countries."

Louise Guénette is a freelance writer based in Ottawa.

For more information:

Alain Olivier, Département de phytologie, Université Laval, Pavillon Paul-Comtois, Québec, Quebec, Canada G1K 7P4; Phone: (418) 656-2131, ext. 3601; Fax: (418) 656-7856; Email: Alain.Olivier@plg.ulaval.ca

Innocent Butaré, Senior Program Officer, IDRC Regional Office for West and Central Africa, BP 11007 Peytavin, Dakar, Senegal; Phone: (+221) 864-0000; Fax: (+221) 825-3255; Email: ibutare@idrc.org.sn

Sidebar

The Science of Agroforestry

Agroforestry is a relatively new science that builds on the ancient practice of nurturing trees on farms and in the farming landscape.

Essentially, agroforestry is a farming system that integrates crops or livestock with trees and shrubs. The practice results in numerous benefits, including creating additional sources of income, increasing biological production, improving water quality, and improving habitat for both humans and wildlife. For example, an agroforestry system might produce firewood, biomass feedstocks, pinestraw mulch, fodder for grazing animals, and other traditional forestry products. At the same time, the trees are sheltering livestock from wind or sun, providing wildlife habitat, controlling soil erosion, and, quite often, fixing nitrogen to improve soil fertility.

The term agroforestry was coined in 1971 by Joe Hulse of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) who, along with colleagues, was focusing on research related to social forestry in Africa. It was understood that social forestry, as a concept, had been largely neglected as a subject of development research. In 1975, IDRC commissioned a landmark study on tropical forestry research that would bring the term agroforestry into common parlance. The research, undertaken by a founding member of IDRC’s Board of Governors, John G. Bene, called for global recognition of the key role trees play on farms. This study led to the creation of the International Council for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) in 1978 to promote agroforestry research in developing countries. In 2002, ICRAF’s name changed to the World Agroforestry Centre. After 25 years of research and development by the World Agroforestry Centre and its partners, the trees-on-farms techniques that make up the science of agroforestry can be found on every continent.

IDRC continues to support community forestry through the Community Forestry: Trees and People - John G. Bene Fellowship. This fellowship provides assistance to Canadian graduate students undertaking research on the relationship of forest resources to the social, economic, cultural, and environmental welfare of people in developing countries.

Sidebar

Agroforestry in Canada

Compared to growers in tropical and sub-tropical climates, farmers in Canada have clearly separated farmland from forests. Agriculture in the North is more mechanized and tractors do not mix well with trees. As well, the shorter growing season gives farmers less leeway to cultivate trees that compete with other crops for water, minerals, and light. There is more time in the South for all plants to produce a good harvest.

But Alain Olivier is researching some agroforestry applications in Canada. He tested the farming of ginseng in maple groves aided by the application of lime on very acidic soil. There are commercial operations using this method. American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium) is a lucrative medicinal crop. Most of the ginseng roots are produced in open fields under expensive shade structures. Growing ginseng in forests eliminates the need for a shade structure and may reduce the need for pesticides.

Olivier is now working on ways to cultivate wild forest plants that are extensively picked for their medicinal properties or tastiness, such as the bloodroot, a medicinal flower, and the ostrich fern, eaten as fiddleheads in the spring.

Agroforestry is especially useful to develop wooded areas on Canadian farms in regions where the soil is less productive, Olivier says.

2005-05-02

News 6 of 17