Climate Change and Peasant Farmers’ Adoption of Multifunctional Agroforestry Systems in Cameroon: Determinants and Policy Ramifications.

Climate change is a real threat to peasant farmers across the world. Peasant farmers’ dependence on rainfall for cultivation and their limited adaptive capacity renders them vulnerable to the adversities of climate change. This calls for the adopt ion/intensification of nature-based practices that enhance resilience and reduce vulnerability to extreme weather/climate events. Consequently, this study examined the multifunctional agroforestry systems adopted by peasant farmers. Data were collected from primary (socio-economic and biophysical) and secondary sources and analyzed using appropriate statistical software. Multifunctional agrosilvopastoral (25%), agrosilvicultural (44%), and silvopastoral (11%) systems were the most frequently adopted by peasant farmers. These multifunctional agroforestry systems had several components (pasture/livestock, trees/shrubs, and food/cash crops) that serve different purposes such as soil fertility enhancement and provision of food, fodder, finance, and fuelwood. Many different independent variables (e.g., access to extension services, information, credit, and land; vulnerability to climate change, size of household, income of household, number of farms, educational level of household head, and resilience to climate change) all had a significant (p < .05) relationship with peasant farmers’ adoption of multifunctional agroforestry systems. Thus, socio-economic, agro-ecological, and environmental factors determine peasant farmers’ adoption of multifunctional agroforestry systems. It is recommended that policymakers in the agricultural and environmental spheres recognize these factors influencing peasant farmers’ adoption of multifunctional agroforestry systems when crafting policies geared toward encouraging the adoption of nature-based practices like agroforestry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]