Determinants for choosing climate change adaptation strategies and selecting improved agroforestry practices have rarely been explored, while numerous studies have been conducted on climate change and agroforestry. This paper discusses; local understanding of climate change, climatic impacts, and factors that affect farmers’ choices of adaptation strategies, and agroforestry practices. We focused on three districts located in the mid-hills of Nepal, where farmers were adopting agroforestry practices in two forms; traditional and improved practices. We followed three techniques of social survey; household survey (n = 420), focus group discussions (n = 6), and key informant interviews (n = 24). Almost all farmers of the study areas were experiencing climatic challenges, but only 59.29% of them accepted that the challenges are induced by climate change and, likewise, 55.24% have adopted climate change adaptation measures. Diversifying crop production, shifting farming practices, changing occupation, and emigration were local adaptation strategies. Livelihood improvement, income generation, and food production were the primary motives for adopting agroforestry practices in the study area. Agroforestry as an adaptation measure to climate change was considered secondary by most farmers. Statistical analysis using a logit model revealed that age, education, and habit of growing commercial species significantly influenced farmers adopting climate change adaptation strategies. Likewise, age, education, gender, habit of growing commercial species, and income from tree products significantly influenced the choice of improved agroforestry practices as a better option. Though agroforestry was widely considered a strategy to combat climate change, only some farmers accepted it due to their awareness level. Therefore, education programs such as training, farmer field schools, door-to-door visits, etc., should be intensified to sensitize farmers about climate change and encourage them to adopt improved agroforestry practices. The findings of the study could reinforce local, national, and international allied agencies to design operative actions in the days to come.

Farmers are predominantly adopting two forms of agroforestry, traditional and improved practices, in the midhills of Nepal, but their efficacy on a comparative basis is poorly assessed, so farmers often confuse whether to continue the traditional practice or embrace the improved practice. We carried out a study in six villages of three districts, interviewed 210 farmers adopting each practice, organized six focus group discussions, and interacted with 24 key informants to compare agroforestry practices from income generation and forest conservation perspectives. An individual household adopting the improved practice annually generated 841.60 US$, which was more than two folds of the traditional practitioner. Similarly, the improved practitioner annually fulfilled 84% demand for forest products from the adopted agroforestry practice, whereas the traditional practitioner only fulfilled about 50%. The fodder, fuelwood, and timber productions were found to be significantly higher in the improved practice, whereas leaf litter production was found to be almost similar. The improved practitioners seemed to be self-sustained in forest products, where the traditional practitioners only satisfied half of their requirements from the agroforestry practice. The study concludes that the improved agroforestry practice is more beneficial compared to the traditional practice. Therefore, we suggest the traditional practitioners to modify their ongoing practice to enhance the contribution of agroforestry practice at the local level.

Farmers are adopting different agroforestry practices, but comparative studies between the practices based on ecosystem functions are often ignored. We assessed species composition and carbon stock in two different agroforestry practices (traditional and improved) adopted in the mid-hills of Nepal. We found higher species richness and dominancy of Citrus synenssis (fruit species) in the improved practice, whereas we found higher species evenness, diversity, and dominance of Ficus clavata (fodder species) in the traditional practice. 0.35 of the similarity index between the two practices indicated that there was 65% difference in species number between the two practices. The improved practice had larger trees with higher frequency compared to traditional practice. The carbon inventory reflected that the total carbon stock between the two practices was insignificant, whereas the total biomass carbon was significantly higher in the improved practice than in the traditional practice. Therefore, improvement in traditional practices has the potential to increase biomass and sequester more carbon within the same unit of land. However, maintaining species diversity is a concern in the improved practice. We suggest policymakers and concerned stakeholders for prioritizing improved agroforestry practice and maintain species diversity while designing strategies for agroforestry promotion and climate change mitigation.

Agroforestry practices offer a unique opportunity to address climate change impacts while securing the livelihoods of the rural communities. This study was carried out in Tillotama municipality of Rupandehi district, Nepal. Agroforestry system practices at the study site were identified through reconnaissance survey and discussions with ward officials. With 10% sampling intensity, purposive sampling was adopted for the study using the structured questionnaire, key informant interview, and field observation. For mean comparison, one-way ANOVA and Least Significant Difference (LSD) as post-hoc tests were carried out. Local communities were adopting eight different types of agroforestry practices under four agroforestry systems, namely agri-silvicultural, silvo-pastoral, agro-silvopastoral and silvi-fishery. The agroforestry system shared up to 50.54% of total households’ income, in which income from agriculture was the highest. Agroforestry income was dependent on the economic status of the households. Change in cropping calendar was found as a major adaptation strategy. Scaling up of agroforestry system and commercialization of agroforestry products were recommended.