Climate-Smart Agriculture: A Review of Current Practice of Agroforestry and Conservation Agriculture in Malawi and Zambia

This analytical report explores the livelihood and food security benefits of agroforestry and conservation agriculture in Malawi and Zambia, as well as economic feasibility analyses of the practices.It finds that agroforestry has well-documented improvements in yields and profitability in both countries, while the evidence-base for the benefits of conservation agriculture is positive, but weaker. The paper notes that, while the adoption rate of these practices is higher in Malawi and Zambia than in other countries, it is lower than would be expected considering the potential benefits and the investment made by governments and donors in promoting these climate-smart agriculture activities. The analysis notes that agroforestry provides significant fertilization benefits, though not as much as inorganic fertilizers, but that the two can be used to complement one another.