Forestry

Fruit trees for climate adaptation and mitigation in East Africa

Colorful and vibrant fruit market in Africa
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illustration of a map showing Kenya

Overview

This project aimed to enhance farm-level climate adaptation, household food security, and nutrition for smallholders in Kenya and Rwanda by increasing the stocking and strategic siting of fruit trees.

It also aimed to take the first steps in exploring the potential for the carbon sequestered in fruit trees to provide access to additional international climate finance and provide information requested by farmers about their contributions to mitigating climate change. The project is inspired by the successful increase of trees within farming systems when fruit trees were offered during prior ACIAR projects, the increasing awareness of farmers of the environmental benefits of trees, and the promising evidence in the literature that fruit trees have the potential to simultaneously deliver multiple benefits for farmers and the environment. 

Fruits play an important role in food and nutritional security and income generation. Aligned with government policies to promote fruits for nutrition and export, this work has economic implications and is supported by both governments through national budgets.

Fruit trees provide nutritional diversity, increased food supply, and saleable surplus production to people in need, other products such as stakes, firewood, poles, etc., and contribute to soil fertility through litterfall and root-soil-microbes interactions.

Outcomes

  • Developed an interactive suitable tree species selection and management tool for Kenya and Rwanda, which saw thousands of views and downloads, enhancing access to information on tree growing.
  • Formed a farmer-led cooperative (AVOMAC) in Kiambu, providing a platform for better marketing and price negotiation, with farmers fetching higher prices for their produce.
  • Improved understanding of gender roles in household decision-making around fruit tree growing, production, and income generation.
  • Delivered various knowledge products, including journal articles, manuals, and briefs.

Project final report