Farmers’ Perception of Coffee Agroforestry Systems in an Area Targeted for Organic Certification in Burundi

Abstract

Taking into account the current understanding of a system by farmers is an important starting point in every project aiming at the economic and social development of human beings. In the process of organic certification of coffee growers, training sessions on various topics are conducted. In addition to these sessions, there are field visits to farms by experts. And it is most often done through a top-down approach. A household survey was carried out on a purposive sample of households in the zone of the central plateaus in Burundi. Data were collected using a questionnaire through smartphones. Data analysis was carried out using IBM SPSS Statistics software by calculating means, frequencies and cross-analyses of variables. Results show that, besides bananas that are deliberately considered as shading crops, Grevillea robusta is the most frequent shade tree which is present on 62% of coffee plots. It is followed by an indigenous tree: Ficus sp. which is present on 14.6% of plots, and a fruit tree, Persea americana present on 13.9% of plots. The effects of shade trees on soil properties are well recognized by farmers. For their search of certification (75% of farmers are involved in the process of organic certification), chemicals application is banned. Farmers use a locally-made biopesticide decoction. They prepare it from a set of five plants: Tephrosia vogelii, Solanum aculeastrum, Neorautanenia mitis, Capsicum frutescens, and Tithonia diversifolia. This research has proven that the integration of shade trees in coffee plots is a reality in the region.