The challenge of HIV/AIDS: Where does agroforestry fit in? - World ...

24World Agroforestry into the Future(ICCO 2005). There is a similar trend foroil crops such as coconut (oil is extractedfrom the dried kernel – the copra) and,more recently, oil palm. Natural rubber,which was a gathered crop in Amazonia atthe end of the 19 th century, is now harvestedfrom plantations covering more than 10million hectares worldwide (InternationalRubber Study Group 2004).These crops play a fundamental role in theeconomy of many developing countries,particularly in those that are the least developedand most heavily indebted. Mostof the crops are bound for the export marketand are an important pillar of overallgrowth and rural development. “More than50 developing countries depend on threeor fewer commodities for more than halfof their export earnings. All heavily indebtedpoor countries (HIPCs) depended onprimary commodities for more thanhalf of their merchandise export earningsin 1997,” (World Bank 1999). Except forpalm oil, where estates still represent asignificant amount of the planted area,most of these perennial crops (80–95%)are grown on small to very small farms(Gilbert and Ter Wengel 2000; World Bank2002; International Rubber Study Group2004).Some of these crops (e.g. oil palm and coconut)contribute to food security at bothlocal and regional levels, while most ofthem generate income at the householdlevel. They also play a major role in generatingforeign exchange at the national level.In addition, such crops can contributeto the sustainability of agricultural systemsand, in some cases, play an important rolein the preservation of species and ecosystemdiversity (Ruf and Zadi 1998; Gockowski2001; Schroth et al. 2004)With market liberalization and globalizationraising concerns about the sustainablemanagement of land and other naturalresources, many stakeholders in treecrop commodity chains are concernedabout the future of their crops. In orderto address these issues there have been anumber of major conferences on the futureof tree crops, some of which looked at arange of products (e.g. the perennial cropsconference in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoirein 2001), while others concentrated onone commodity (e.g. the United NationsConference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD) cocoa conference in 2001,the International Coffee Organizationconference in Bangalore in 2004, and theRoundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil thathosted its third roundtable in November2005 [www.sustainable-palmoil.org]).Other meetings have focused on possiblesolutions to land management, whichinclude agroforestry and forms of certificationand quality zoning approaches (e.g.presentations at the World AgroforestryCongress in Orlando, Florida and theWorld’s Wildest Coffee event in Nairobi,Kenya, both in 2004).This chapter provides a brief overview ofthe significance of tree crops to sustainabledevelopment and the relationship betweentree crops and agroforestry systems. It thenreviews the major problems – in somecases crises – in the main tree crop sectors.Finally it suggests ways to create moresustainable tree crop systems, focusing onhow these solutions tie into an agroforestryresearch and development (R&D) agenda.It shows how agroforestry R&D may playa role either directly (e.g. in improving theproductivity of farming systems) or indirectly(e.g. through capacity building of farmerorganizations) in tree crop systems.Tree crops and sustainabledevelopmentEconomic importancePerennial tree crops have become criticalcomponents of many of the nationaleconomies in the humid tropics. Millionsof hectares are planted to cocoa, coffee,coconut, rubber and oil palm plantations,mostly in developing countries (Table 1).Production is calculated in millions oftonnes; markets are growing and generallyabsorb any surges in supply, albeit with‘booms and busts’ that can and have destabilisedlocal economies. Geographicaldistribution varies depending on the crop:almost 70% of cocoa is produced in sub-Saharan Africa; more than half of all coffeecomes from Latin America; and more than90% of natural rubber, palm oil and coconutoil is produced in Asia (Table 2).Tree crops account for a significant percentageof total agricultural exports inmany countries: in Côte d’Ivoire theycomprise 35%; in Ethiopia 26%; in Ghana25%; and in Kenya 23%, while in Ugandathey account for a massive 53% of all agriculturalexports. In Uganda, increasedearnings from coffee exports were responsiblefor half of the drop in the percentageof people living under the poverty threshold,which fell from 54% in 1992 to 35%in 2000 (World Bank 2002).The total value of tree crop exports forAfrica amounted to almost US$5 billionin 2000 (World Bank 2002), includingaround US$1.5 billion for Côte d’Ivoireand US$640 million each for Ghanaand Kenya. The value of global trade inproducts such as coffee is considerable.For instance, the United States importedUS$1.7 billion worth of green coffee in