Page 22 - 2020 SoM Journal Vol 73 No 1 FINAL_Neat

14 The Society of Malawi Journal

quality of local foods; and, finally, to increase the "resilience" of the
environment through soil and water conservation. Agro-forestry, like
permaculture, is viewed as applied ecology, and as combining economics,
forestry and agriculture (Annual Report ICRAF 1996).
The advocates of agro-forestry were particularly interested in
introducing trees into the local agro-economy that were both legumes - hence
enhancing soil fertility - and had multiple uses - as, for example, fodder,
fuelwood, poles and green manure. Besides encouraging the common practice
of "multiple-cropping" advocates of agro-forestry also introduced the notion of
"alley cropping". Three trees, in particular, were viewed as useful in this regard.
These are:
GLIRICIDIA SEPIUM
Introduced into the Shire Highlands by the early European tea planters,
particularly Arthur Westrop, as a shade tree in tea gardens (Morris 2016:201),
Gliricidia is a native of tropical America. It is a quick-growing small tree with
pea-like, pale lilac flowers that can be cropped annually, the leaves being used
as a green manure. It has thus been highly recommended inter-cropped with
maize and pigeon pea (P. Chirwa et al 2003).
LEUCAENA LEVCOCEPHALA
A tree growing to 5m and a native of Central America, Leucaena has long
been grown as a shade tree in coffee plantations. A legume with a deep tap root it is
also quick-growing, and besides enriching the soil with nitrogen it has multiple
uses as fodder, green manure, firewood and as a medium hardwood for poles and
construction purposes.
TEPHROSIA VOGELII
The pounded leaves of mtutu (or ombwe) are a well-known fish poison
throughout the Shire Highlands. A densely hardy shrub growing to 3m and
common in cultivations, mtutu is recommended as a hedgerow species in
alley-cropping, to act as a wind shield and to enhance soil fertility (Ngulube and
Mwabumba 1994).
Agro-forestry has had a certain influence in the Shire Highlands, but
peasant smallholders still tend to plant useful trees within the vicinity of the
family homestead (pakhomo) rather than in the upland gardens (munda), as
envisaged by agro-foresters.
The Malawi government, along with most agro-economists, has been
less concerned with agro-forestry than endeavouring to improve crop
productivity within the smallholder sector. They have done this by encouraging
monocultural practices, the liberal use of fertilizers and pesticides and by the
cultivation of high-yielding crop varieties.
Peasant smallholders, of course, have long recognised the capacity of
fertilizers to improve crop yields, specifically maize, and have invariably
adopted high-yielding varieties of pigeon pea, cassava, kidney beans, sweet