Living W Ith the Trees of Life: Towards the Transformation of Tropical Agriculture

BOOK REVIEW

Living with the Trees working with nature to increase By incorporating agroforestry trees into of Life: Towards the productivity without wreaking havoc on their farms, small-scale farmers can Transformation of the land. increase yields, protect and improve soils Tropical Agriculture Why does this matter for wildlife? and supplement both household income Well, basically agriculture is a serious and nutrition. One graphic example from Author: Roger Leakey environmental issue: from the direct this book shows the incredible effect of physical competition for space, human- having a fallow area with the nitrogen- Published by CABI wildlife conflicts between farmers/ fixing Sesbania (which is familiar to many www.cabi.org herders and wild animals to the massive residents of East Africa), where the impacts of farming on soils, water and subsequent maize crop is twice as tall and climate. There is no doubt that any higher yielding than the adjacent project centred on conservation today experimental crop without the added "To me the Garden of Eden conjures up needs to take into account the fact that benefit of the nitrogen-fixer. images of lush vegetation in a land with food production remains one of the most This is just one of numerous examples plenty of natural resources where people central and challenging (in terms of that Roger Leakey's book discusses, many live in equilibrium with their sustainability) of human endeavours. of them related to projects developed by environment, eating alluring and little- While the issue of a growing world the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) known fruits and nuts - the 'Trees of population seems almost an whose headquarters are in Nairobi. It is Life'." This is the opening line of Roger insurmountable topic on the global stage, these many examples of sustainability, Leakey's book on his many years of Roger Leakey's book shines a small beam healing and intensifying production by experience looking at agroforestry and of hope about practical means and ways working with nature that make this book sustainable farming in different parts of to sustainable food security and more an enjoyable read. the world. It sets the tone for an importantly nutritional security: where The success stories from many hidden absorbing and eye-opening series of communities are able to source a corners of the world are inspiring and will chapters that seek to share his balanced diet, including sufficient no doubt encourage many to seek out experiences from many different parts of amounts of essential trace elements, these solutions for their own communities the world over a fruitful and productive micro-nutrients and vitamins, from the or those they might work with through career in agroforestry. crops that they produce themselves. conservation projects. By capturing, the While many might first dismiss the Roger Leakey's book is highly readable words, questions and joy of farmers and subject of agro-forestry and agriculture and written in an accessible and lively others who directly work with and benefit as 'boring' or relegated to dry technical style. The chapters loosely follow some of from nature, Roger Leakey clearly shows manuals gathering dust on shelves of the author's travels across the world, how important the human dimension of NGOs, this book is a refreshing and primarily in the tropics, as he travels for sustainable development remains. optimistic look at some of the most work and projects. Discussing both the As Julian Cribb, author of 'The Coming pressing issues facing the planet and successes and challenges of using trees as Famine: the Global Food Crisis and What human survival and continued economic crops and incorporating them into various We Can Do To Avoid It', points out: development. farming systems, the examples drawn "World agricultural science has for two Without a doubt, the issue of food directly from the field and written with generations been dominated by a high- production remains one of the most much humanity energy model of farming... Science has pressing and debated social and and insight make for thought-provoking largely neglected the equally promising development topics today. Solutions reading. For those who have spent any but far less understood low-input range from calls for the increase of high- time in rural farming communities in systems." It is these low-input' systems tech and high-input, intensive large-scale tropical countries, it will come as no that are the backbone of many rural farming, basically a second 'Green surprise how important trees and tree- communities, and rather than bulldozing Revolution, to arguments for investments products are in these rural diets and them down as has been the norm in in sustainability: looking at the health of subsistence economies. However, what is many areas that modernise, this book soils, farming systems, watersheds as well striking about this book is just how many shows another way of intensification, one as the farmers and communities they tree species are out there that are useful, with many reasons to be optimistic. feed. This book is a voice for the latter: and also how little yet we have truly managed and exploited them. Reviewed by: Dino Martins

SWARA JANUARY - MARCH Society) 2013 (East African Wildlife