Potential of agroforestry for food and nutrition security of small-scale farming households: a case study from Yayu, southwestern Ethiopia
Food and nutrition security is a major global challenge. Enhancing the local production of food is a key alternative in impoverished agrarian countries of the south. One option is agroforestry, promoted and implemented as a land-use system capable of addressing the multifaceted problem of food and nutrition security of small-scale farming households. This paper illustrates the potential roles of local agroforestry practices to contribute to the food and nutrition security of small-scale farming households focusing on the Yayu Coffee Forest Biosphere Reserve in south-western Ethiopia as a case study. The three dominant agroforestry practices, i.e. multistorey coffee systems, homegardens, and multipurpose trees on farmland contribute substantially to the food and nutrition security of households and communities despite each having a particular purpose, species management and composition.