Farmers’ use and preferences of agroforestry trees in Bauchi State, Nigeria

Abstract

Most of the Bauchi State's inhabitants face environmental and socio-economic challenges. Agroforestry trees can help these people by providing valuable environmental benefits such as windbreaks, soil improvement, shade, or additional income through fruits and medicine (services and products). The study aimed to identify the most important use of tree species by the farmers and their tree preferences, examine agroforestry practices on their farms, and spot the most preferred locations of trees on their farms. The fieldwork was conducted in both lowlands and highlands of Bauchi state. In total, 83 farmers were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires. The results showed that farmers mostly use and prefer fruit trees (74 and 87%), followed by medicinal trees (66 and 18%) in lowlands and highlands, respectively. They also use trees for fencing and shading. Adansonia digitata was the most preferred species in the lowlands, while Parkia biglobosa was in the highlands. Scattered trees were the most used agroforestry practice (79 and 84%) in both the lowlands and the highlands. The bush field and the village field (47 and 37%) were the most preferred locations of trees on farms. In the future, we suggest that policymakers and extensionists should support research and improvement of varieties of the most preferred fruit/food tree species and develop and introduce improved disease-resistant and pest-tolerant native varieties.