multipurpose tree species research for small farms: strategies ... - part

The growing importance of small-scale farm
woodlot development, rural forestry and
agroforestry has been amply highlighted in rccent
literature including FAO (1978; 1981), Burley
(1980), World Bank.(1978), and Spears (1983) to
mention just a few. These new dimensions of
forestry development have the following
characteristics in common: they are
people-oriented both in terms of implementation
and benefit; they constitute small-scale operations
by individuals or communities; they have high
social benefits, particularly for the rural poor; and
they are often more environmentally stabilizing
than industrial plantation forestry.
The potential role of multipurpose tree species
(MPTS) and shrubs which can provide a range of
goods and services in agroforestry and rural
orestry development has been discussed by Burley
and von Carlowitz (1984), Stepplei and Lundgren
(1988), Nair (1984), and Owino (1989) among
others. Fo, effective evaluation and improvement
of MPTS for small farm use, issues worth special
consideration include: the large number of
potential uses of MPTS on farms; rationalizing the
specific roles of MPTS on farms; ecological and
farming system specific adaptations; improvement
of MPTS yields through better husbandry and
breeding; agroforestry technology-specific
experimentation (ie. hedgerow intercropping,
contour bunds/strips, scattered trees on cropland,
etc.); MPTS germplasm supply and exchange; and
experimental design implications,
This paper discusses these issues as they relate
to research to maximize MPTS adaptation and
yield under the management of small-scale farmers,
Overall Goals of Research on MPTS for
Small Farm Use
In most situations, the dominant goals of
research will be to adapt MPTS to specific sites
and farming systems taking into account the
farmers' needs for MPTS products, the
Small-Scale FarmerOiiented Strategy
for Evaluation and Improvement of
Multipurpose Trees
F.Oino
International Council for
Research in Agroforestry
Nairobi, Kenya
167
compatibility with companion crops, the
enhancement and sustainability o the land
productive capacity, and to produce quality
wood, mulch, fodder and other tree products in
great quantities as fast as possible, to ensure
maximum economic returns.
The goal of high-yield production has always
been recognized in traditional agricultural and
forestry research with relatively little attention
paid to adapting MPTS to the site or the
farming system. The significant roles which
MPTS can play in enhancing and sustaining
land productive capacity have been discussed by
Bene el al. (1977), King and Chandler (1978),
and Beer (1987). Given the current alarming
rates of decline in land productive capacity
under most farming systems within the tropics, it
is imperative that adapting trees to site-specific
conditions be accorded a higher priority in
developing MPTS for small farm use.
The Number of Potentially Useful
MPTS Species
Both agricultural and forestry intensive
production systems have relied on a very narrow
range of specie- the world over. It is no surprise
that serious concern has been expressed about
the real threat to biological diversity with the
rapid expansion of such monocultural
producton systems. In sharp contrast to the
few products expected from traditional
plantation on MPTS fo~r forestry, many the more small-scale products farmer and services relies
such as fuelwood, building poles, food, fodder,
and medicine.
Different communities of farmers rely on
assorted combinations of MPTS grown in their
fields and home compounds to provide various
goods and services. The number of potentially
useful MPTS on a global basis can therefore be
very large. For example, a list of over 2,(X)0
candidate MPTS has been proposcd for
agroforcstry by Burley and von Carlowitz