Towards bamboo-agroforestry development in Ghana: exploring socio-economic and ecological potentials

Abstract

In Ghana, the rising need for household energy from wood fuels and food needs is considered a major threat to forest resources conservation. Government and scientists believe that the alarming rate of deforestation and threats to important ecosystem services will not cease unless integrated land-use systems that meet the food and fuelwood demands of households are in place. Bamboo agroforestry is currently considered a possibility in view of the significant socioeconomic and ecological benefits obtained in some parts of Asia and some other tropical regions. Meanwhile, it is unclear whether bamboo would have social acceptability to be planted on farmers’ fields and the extent to which bamboo-based intercropping systems will sustain food production and household energy security. In addition, knowledge of possible ecological interactions between mixed bamboo and arable crop systems are limited but would be necessary to inform management decisions applicable to improving the productivity of bamboo agroforestry systems. Using questionnaire interviews, literature review and field experiments, this study explored the traditional ecological knowledge and ecological aspects of bamboo agroforestry and accentuated implications on its adoption potential and suitability as a land-use system for household food security and fuelwood needs. The study was conducted in the Dry Semi-deciduous Forest Zone (DSFZ) of Ghana. Two exotic bamboo species; Bambusa balcooa and Oxytenanthera abyssinica were used for various bamboo intercropping and ecological trials. The premise of the study fits into Ghana’s Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy and falls within the overarching aim of Work Package 4.4 of the BiomassWeb project sponsored by the German government. <br /> In Chapter one, the rationale, scope, research questions, and objectives are stated. In Chapter two, socioeconomic and cultural potentials of bamboo agroforestry are previewed on global, regional and local scales. Bamboo agroforestry potentials and research needs in Ghana are also established. The research methodology, study area, and field experimentation procedures are presented in Chapter three. Results from data collected from 200 farmers in the dry semi-deciduous forest zone of Ghana in Chapter four show that farmers’ traditional knowledge of bamboo, particularly, its use for charcoal production and leaves for fodder are influential determinants of bamboo agroforestry adoption. Also, farmers’ age, gender and the regular practice of leaving trees on farmlands and type of cropping system are the most significant predictors influencing bamboo integration into traditional farming systems. In Chapter five, where farmers’ perception of bamboo litter for livestock fodder and litter quality trials on goat’s production were prospected, only 26% of respondents were aware bamboo leaves could be fed to livestock. It was evident gender may be an influential factor in determining the acceptability of bamboo fodder. Out of the 64% respondents who expressed willingness to feed their animals with bamboo leaves if demonstrated to be suitable, 47% of them were males whilst 17% were females. The fodder quality analysis showed the highest crude protein and in vitro gas production occur in Oxytenanthera abyssinica. Besides, O. abyssinica diets gave the highest daily gain and the lowest feed to gain ratio. The treatment effect was significant on blood variables measured. It is concluded in this Chapter that, bamboo leaves are viable feed supplement for goats as shown by their nutrient profile and positive influence on growth performance of goats and that, farmers are willing to use bamboo leaves as fodder for livestock production, particularly, goats. In Chapter six, agronomic potentials of bamboo were explored by investigating the effect of bamboo agroforestry with maize, cowpea, and cassava as against monocultures of the crops and bamboo. The results show that regardless of fertilizer treatments, bamboo agroforestry and monocropped fields had comparable effects on soil properties and crop productivity within two years of establishment. Intercropping advantage over monocropping was evident for all crops with partial land equivalent ratios for fertilized and non-fertilized intercropping systems with cowpea recording 1.37 and 1.54, respectively; 1.38 and 1.36, respectively, for maize and 1.12 and 1.19, respectively, for cassava. Decomposition and nutrient release patterns in bamboo were comparable to those from five other traditionally used agroforestry Multipurpose Trees/Shrubs (MPTs) in Ghana in Chapter seven; indicating that bamboo could be a useful alternative agroforestry candidate species. <br /> In Chapters eight and nine, the socioeconomic and environmental potentials of bamboo agroforestry and its consequential potential for improvements in food and energy production for smallholder farming communities are discussed. Also, the overall potential of the bamboo agroforestry for potential adoption and upscaling is presented. The limitation of this thesis is indicated and perceived areas for further improvements are suggested. By dwelling on the prospects of bamboo, this thesis compels readers to focus attention on the evidence of how smallholder farmers could increase income streams and levels for socio-economic improvements using bamboo agroforestry to maintain productive systems for sustained agricultural and fuelwood production. This could facilitate the attainment of food and energy security in Ghana. With this, the findings of this study may encourage bamboo agroforestry adoption by smallholder farmers. It is suggested that the Government of Ghana and development partners should adopt bamboo agroforestry in land-use conservation and development efforts through policy reviews and invigoration. Particularly, lessons could be drawn from the findings of this study for the Ghana bio-energy production policy and the strategies for the flagship policy of planting for food and jobs, rolled out by the government in the quest to attain food and energy security in Ghana.