Contribution of agroforestry trees for climate change adaptation: narratives from smallholder farmers in Isiolo, Kenya

Agroforestry is often praised as a sustainable approach for the adaptation of smallholder farmers to climate change and variability in Africa. The environmental, economic, and social benefits of agroforestry can contribute to climate change adaptation efforts; however, most studies to date are quantitative and do not focus on specific natural hazards. To address these gaps, this study draws from the concepts of vulnerability and adaptation to explore how individuals from 20 smallholder farming households in semi-arid Isiolo County, Kenya have benefited from their agroforestry trees during drought and flood events. A total of 83 qualitative interviews were conducted with both male and female household heads. The interviews were recorded, and interview text was coded into major themes. The results highlight (1) the contributions of agroforestry trees to reducing sensitivity and increasing adaptive capacity to drought and flood events, as well as (2) the key characteristics of drought-important and flood-important agroforestry trees. In both drought and flood events agroforestry had an important role to play in reducing sensitivity, largely through improving environmental conditions (shade, soil erosion, windbreaker, microclimate regulation), and increasing adaptive capacity by providing critical tree products and financial benefits (fruit, food, firewood, construction materials, fodder, traditional medicines, money from sales of fruit products). Agriculture is often considered the livelihood strategy most vulnerable to climate change, and thus better understanding how to adapt agriculture to the impacts of climate change is critical for both the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and global food security efforts.