sustainability Article Local Agroforestry Practices for Food and Nutrition Security of Smallholder Farm Households in Southwestern Ethiopia Omarsherif Jemal 1,* ID , Daniel Callo-Concha 1 ID and Meine van Noordwijk 2,3 ID 1 Centre for Development research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Genscheralle 3, 53113 Bonn, Germany; [email protected] 2 World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Southeast Asia Regional Programme, P.O. Box 161, Bogor 16001, Indonesia; [email protected] 3 Plant Production Systems Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 430, 6700 AK Wageningen, The Netherlands * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +251-911-410-478 Received: 20 June 2018; Accepted: 27 July 2018; Published: 2 August 2018 Abstract: Food and nutrition security (FNS) rests on five pillars: availability, access, utilization, stability, and sovereignty. We assessed the potentials of local agroforestry practices (AFPs) for enabling FNS for smallholders in the Yayu Biosphere Reserve (southwestern Ethiopia). Data was collected from 300 households in a stratified random sampling scheme through semi-structured interviews and farm inventory. Utility, edibility, and marketability value were the key parameters used to determine the potential of plants in the AFPs. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and correlation analysis were employed to determine the form, variation, and association of local AFP attributes. Homegarden, multistorey-coffee-system, and multipurpose-trees-on-farmlands are the predominant AFPs in Yayu. Multipurpose-trees-on-farmlands are used mainly for food production, multistorey-coffee-system for income-generation, and homegarden for both. The 127 useful plant species identified represent 10 major plant utility groups, with seven (food, fodder, fuel, coffee-shade, timber, non-timber-forest-products, and medicinal uses) found in all three AFPs. In total, 80 edible species were identified across all AFPs, with 55 being primarily cultivated for household food supply. Generally, household income emanates from four major sources, multistorey-coffee-system (60%), homegarden (18%), multipurpose-trees-on-farmlands (13%), and off-farm activities (11%). Given this variation in form, purpose, and extracted benefits, existing AFPs in Yayu support the FNS of smallholders in multiple ways. Keywords: food and non-food benefit; homegarden; multipurpose tree on farmland; multistorey coffee system; multi-functionality; traditional agroforestry; Yayu Biosphere Reserve 1. Introduction In the last four decades, agroforestry has been promoted as an option to address poverty and food insecurity, as well as to enhance the adaptability of small-scale farmers to social-ecological hazards [1–5]. For the former, its potential relies on its contribution to the strengthening of the five pillars of food and nutrition security (FNS): availability, access, utilization, stability, and sovereignty (Figure1). Examples in local contexts are: (i) the presence of perennial staple food species in the system, like Ensete ventricosum, Musa spp., Moringa stenopetala, or Manihot esculenta, which ensure the availability of food [6–9]; (ii) the presence of species that secure cash to farming households, which directly enhance their access to market-based foods, as is the case of Coffea arabica or Theobroma cacao [10,11]; (iii) the utilization of dimension often enhanced via a diversity of species that offer scarce Sustainability 2018, 10, 2722; doi:10.3390/su10082722 www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability SustainabilitySustainability 20182018, ,1010, ,x 2722 FOR PEER REVIEW 22 of of 21 21 nutrients, e.g., fruit, leaves, or nuts, as well as the availability of fuel for cooking [11,12]; (iv) an increasenutrients, in e.g., the fruit, resilience leaves, to or nuts,and asreduction well as thein availabilityhousehold ofsocial-ecological fuel for cooking [vulnerability,11,12]; (iv) an increaseby the diversityin the resilience of constituting to and species reduction and intheir household interactio social-ecologicalns [5,10,11]; and (v) vulnerability, providing options by the and diversity choices of inconstituting the means speciesto grow and and/or their purchase interactions foods [5,10 items,11]; andaccording (v) providing to the household’s options and needs choices in in all the seasons means [9,13,14].to grow and/or purchase foods items according to the household’s needs in all seasons [9,13,14]. Figure 1. Aspects of food security at the interface of land use and food systems. Figure 1. Aspects of food security at the interface of land use and food systems. Agroforestry practices (AFPs) vary in their composition, structure, and function, depending on the biophysical,Agroforestry ecological, practices social, (AFPs) economic, vary in and their cu composition,ltural conditions structure, under which and function, they occur. depending Hence, takingon the into biophysical, account ecological,this site-specificity social, economic, is key before and culturalattempting conditions any upscaling. under whichMbow they et al. occur. [5] emphasizedHence, taking that into although account agroforestry this site-specificity has a considerable is key before potential attempting to improve any upscaling. food security, Mbow et‘’…not al. [5] allemphasized agroforestry that options although are agroforestry viable everywhere”. has a considerable Therefore, potential before recommending to improve food or security, promoting ‘’ ... anynot agroforestryall agroforestry practice options for area certain viable place everywhere”. or community, Therefore, it is crucial before recommendingto characterize and or promoting recognize anyits features,agroforestry attributes, practice and for performance a certain place in view or community, of intra- and it isinter-year crucial to variability. characterize and recognize its features,In Ethiopia, attributes, a wide and variety performance of local/traditional in view of intra- AFPs and exist, inter-year with potential variability. to contribute to the FNS securityIn Ethiopia,of the practitioner a wide variety communities. of local/traditional Different forms AFPs of exist, homegardens with potential are reported to contribute across to the the countryFNS security [15–18]. of theCroplands practitioner with communities. scattered trees Different of Faidherbia forms albida of homegardens are the oldest are form reported of indigenous across the agroforestrycountry [15– 18parklands,]. Croplands omnipresent with scattered in central trees ofandFaidherbia eastern albida Ethiopiaare the [4,19,20]. oldest formThe ofEnset-Coffee indigenous gardens,agroforestry Coffea parklands, arabica planted omnipresent intermingled in central with andEnset eastern ventricosum Ethiopia, practiced [4,19,20 by]. the The Gedeo Enset-Coffee people, aregardens, well-knownCoffea to arabica supportplanted millions intermingled of livelihoods with inEnset the most ventricosum densely, practicedpopulated by areas the of Gedeo the country people, [15,21].are well-known The traditional to support coffee system millions dominated of livelihoods AFPs in in southwestern the most densely Ethiopia populated are a further areas example of the ofcountry a well-established [15,21]. The traditional coffeeAFP [22]. system In Yayu, dominated 60 to 80% AFPs of inrural southwestern households Ethiopia rely on arethese a further AFPs asexample the main of source a well-established of their livelihood traditional [23]; AFPthe area [22]. was In Yayu,considered 60 to 80%food ofsecure rural in households the last 15 relyyears, on despitethese AFPs an increasing as the main human source ofpopulation their livelihood [24–29]. [23 In]; thespite area of was the consideredpotential of food the secure local inAFPs the lastto contribute15 years, despite toward an FNS, increasing empirical human data populationon this topic [24 are–29 scarce.]. In spite of the potential of the local AFPs to contributeFor instance, toward during FNS, empirical the last two data decades, on this topicalmost are all scarce. studies conducted in Yayu mostly focused on theFor ecology, instance, biodiversity, during the lastand two conservation decades, almost of traditional all studies coffee conducted systems in Yayu [30–36], mostly giving focused lesser on attentionthe ecology, to their biodiversity, potential and for conservationfood and nutrient of traditional provision coffee to local systems communities. [30–36], givingTherefore, lesser this attention study aimedto their to potential explore the for foodpotential and nutrientof local AFPs provision of Ya toyu local to contribute communities. to the Therefore, FNS of rural this studyhouseholds. aimed Specificto explore objectives the potential of the ofstudy local were: AFPs (1) of Yayuthe iden totification contribute of to predominant the FNS of rural AFPs households. and their purpose; Specific (2)objectives the plant of species the study composition were: (1) theof each identification practice; (3) of predominantthe ethnobotanical AFPs knowledge and their purpose; of uses (2)of the the variousplant species species composition encountered; of each and practice; (4) their (3) respective the ethnobotanical potential knowledge for food ofprovision uses of theand various cash acquisition, as steps towards (5) an appraisal of the five pillars of food security. Sustainability 2018, 10, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 21 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Study Area SustainabilityYayu is2018 located, 10, 2722 in the Illubabor zone of the Oromiya state, southwestern Ethiopia, between3 of 21 8°10′–8°39′