Combating Rural Poverty and Hunger Through Agroforestry in Bolivia

Overview

In contrast to intensive agricultural practices that require widespread forest clearing, agroforestry systems combine tree growing with the production of other crops or animals. By promoting tree planting, biodiversity, and long-term resource husbandry, agroforestry can be an economically and environmentally sustainable option for small-scale farmers who are struggling to combat the impacts of climate change.

For hungry and food-insecure communities, agroforestry creates more resilient agricultural systems, where the risk of crop failure is spread between diverse crops.

This case study describes how agroforestry systems are being promoted as part of Oxfam’s programme in Bolivia in response to the multiple threats that climate change, deforestation, and traditional agriculture pose to vulnerable Bolivian communities.

It demonstrates how such systems can be economically and socially beneficial as well as more environmentally sustainable, and argues for the inclusion of agroforestry systems as a core strategy within Bolivia’s climate change and agricultural policies.