Nigeria is an up-and-coming country with huge natural and human resources. Interestingly too the people are receptive to new ideas and are ready to adopt new agricultural techniques. We are proud to bring hope contribute to food security and good health and to help improve on the income of smallholder farmers. In the past the long gestation period of rubber which delayed return on investment did not encourage many farmers to take on rubber cultivation. Sustainability of the farms and households was a challenge an ordeal many could not bear. This discouraged many farmers from planting rubber coupled with the fall in prices. Consequently Nigeria's rubber production had declined by more than 50%. These trends motivated the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and partner Rubber Research Institute of Nigeria (RRIN); to develop a rubber- based agroforestry system that could sustain itself and the farmers especially during the very long gestation period. In this system farmers have a wide variety of options to intercrop within the inter-rolls ranging from vegetables spices roots and tubers (cassava yam and cocoyam) plantain and with the possibility of planting high value indigenous fruit trees around the periphery of their farms. The high value or economic trees provide food for the households; enable farmers to generate more income and would also serve as wind break for the young rubber tree.
Publication year
2014
Authors
Atia, J.I.; Asaah, E.K.; Okwu, C.; Esekhade, T.
Keywords
Agroforestry, Rubber, Livelihoods, Sustainability, Farming systems, Food security
