The Contribution of Agroforestry to Sustainable Development Goal 2: End Hunger, Achieve Food Security and Improved Nutrition, and Promote Sustainable Agriculture

Abstract

This chapter addresses how indigenous agroforestry systems relate to, and can be adapted for, integrative landscape management strategies and sustainable supply chain development. We begin by describing the role of indigenous agroforestry and human activities more generally in the history of Amazonian landscapes. We argue based on this discussion that indigenous land use practices, such as agroforestry, should be more strongly supported by governmental and non-governmental entities. Next, we explain why agroforestry has started to receive greater attention in recent years and describe the context of Napo, Ecuador, a region in the Upper Amazon that has been characterized in recent decades by in-migration, urbanization, and greater market integration. These processes have been both accompanied and facilitated by infrastructure development and the expansion of government services to rural communities. In the following section, we describe the Amazonian Kichwa agroforestry, or ‘chakra’ system, and its role in overall landscape management. Next, we discuss the potential of guayusa (Ilex guayusa) commercialization to serve as a promising example of integrating agroforestry with sustainable supply chains. Then, we analyze the possibilities of building new supply chains based on agroforestry and other forest products and describe some of the challenges associated with applying the guayusa commercialization model to other species. Finally, we discuss efforts to better integrate agroforestry management into a variety of other landscape management practices. We conclude with a series of policy suggestions for building sustainable supply chains for agroforestry and other forest products and integrating agroforestry with robust landscape management strategies.