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Prof. Roger Leakey
Former Professor of Agroecology and Sustainable Development, James Cook University, Australia

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Research Keywords & Expertise

0 Agroecology
0 Agroforestry
0 Vegetative propagation
0 Multifunctional agriculture
0 Domestication of trees

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Agroforestry
Multifunctional agriculture
Agroecology
Vegetative propagation

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Commentary
Published: 29 June 2021 in Sustainability
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International agricultural policies to address hunger and malnutrition in the tropics and sub-tropics have typically been based on approaches to the intensification of farming systems effective in industrialised economies where the social, economic, and environmental conditions and the infrastructure are very different to those in Africa. The consequence of this short-sightedness has been that agricultural productivity, dependent on ecosystem services from natural capital, has declined in Africa due to ecological and environmental collapse. This has undermined the livelihoods of the millions of smallholder farmers living on the brink of the cash economy, leading to severe social injustice. This review summarises advances in smallholder agriculture’s sustainable intensification in the tropics and sub-tropics, leveraging the domestication and commercialisation of wild indigenous tree species that produce nutritious, marketable, and useful food and non-food products. These are grown within diversified and multifunctional farming systems together with conventional food staples and local orphan crops to reduce land degradation, pollution, water extraction, and nutrient mining while promoting services such as pollination and other ecological functions. The benefits arising from this approach simultaneously address hunger, malnutrition, poverty, social injustice, and a stagnant economy, as well as important global issues such as climate change, loss of biodiversity and environmental degradation. Addressing these issues may also reduce the risk of future pandemics of zoonotic diseases, such as COVID-19. This set of serious global issues epitomise our divided and dysfunctional world and calls out for action. Enhancing sustainable smallholder productivity using indigenous and wild foods is an important international policy and business intervention, vital for achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the rebalancing of the global economy by restoring natural capital within new African indigenous food industries.

ACS Style

Roger Leakey; Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi; Ameenah Gurib-Fakim. African Lives Matter: Wild Food Plants Matter for Livelihoods, Justice, and the Environment—A Policy Brief for Agricultural Reform and New Crops. Sustainability 2021, 13, 7252 .

AMA Style

Roger Leakey, Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim. African Lives Matter: Wild Food Plants Matter for Livelihoods, Justice, and the Environment—A Policy Brief for Agricultural Reform and New Crops. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (13):7252.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Roger Leakey; Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi; Ameenah Gurib-Fakim. 2021. "African Lives Matter: Wild Food Plants Matter for Livelihoods, Justice, and the Environment—A Policy Brief for Agricultural Reform and New Crops." Sustainability 13, no. 13: 7252.

Perspective
Published: 19 May 2020 in Nature Food
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Environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity and climate change threaten the stability of our planet. Inappropriate approaches to food production interact with hunger, malnutrition and extreme poverty, especially in the tropics and sub-tropics. These approaches, in turn, enhance social deprivation and limit rural development, both of which are drivers of economic migration and civil conflict. Exacerbated by population growth, food systems lie at the heart of these global issues. Here, a planet-proofing approach developed in Africa is presented that illustrates that it is possible to diversify and rehabilitate degraded farmland with species producing highly nutritious and marketable traditional foods in ways that improve food production by conventional staple food crops. Furthermore, it rebuilds agroecological functions and creates new local business opportunities to kick-start rural economies and enhance social well-being. Together, these benefits promote livelihoods and social justice, the mitigation of and/or adaptation to climate change, and the provision of wildlife habitat. This approach offers a highly adaptable model that enhances past investments in the Green Revolution in ways that address both the environmental and social constraints limiting both mainstream agriculture in Africa — and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals globally.

ACS Style

Roger R. B. Leakey. A re-boot of tropical agriculture benefits food production, rural economies, health, social justice and the environment. Nature Food 2020, 1, 260 -265.

AMA Style

Roger R. B. Leakey. A re-boot of tropical agriculture benefits food production, rural economies, health, social justice and the environment. Nature Food. 2020; 1 (5):260-265.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Roger R. B. Leakey. 2020. "A re-boot of tropical agriculture benefits food production, rural economies, health, social justice and the environment." Nature Food 1, no. 5: 260-265.

Review
Published: 23 March 2019 in Planta
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Over the last 25 years, the process of domesticating culturally-important, highly-nutritious, indigenous food-tree species. Integrating these over-looked 'Cinderella' species into conventional farming systems as new crops is playing a critical role in raising the productivity of staple food crops and improving the livelihoods of poor smallholder farmers. This experience has important policy implications for the sustainability of tropical/sub-tropical agriculture, the rural economy and the global environment. A participatory domestication process has been implemented in local communities using appropriate horticultural technologies to characterize genetic variation in non-timber forest products and produce putative cultivars by the vegetative propagation of elite trees in rural resource centers. When integrated into mainstream agriculture, these new crops diversify farmers' fields and generate income. Together, these outcomes address land degradation and social deprivation-two of the main constraints to staple food production-through beneficial effects on soil fertility, agroecosystem functions, community livelihoods, local trade and employment. Thus, the cultivation of these 'socially modified crops' offers a new strategy for the sustainable intensification of tropical agriculture based on the maximization of total factor productivity with minimal environmental and social trade-offs.

ACS Style

Roger R. B. Leakey. From ethnobotany to mainstream agriculture: socially modified Cinderella species capturing ‘trade-ons’ for ‘land maxing’. Planta 2019, 250, 949 -970.

AMA Style

Roger R. B. Leakey. From ethnobotany to mainstream agriculture: socially modified Cinderella species capturing ‘trade-ons’ for ‘land maxing’. Planta. 2019; 250 (3):949-970.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Roger R. B. Leakey. 2019. "From ethnobotany to mainstream agriculture: socially modified Cinderella species capturing ‘trade-ons’ for ‘land maxing’." Planta 250, no. 3: 949-970.

Review
Published: 14 May 2018 in Food Security
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To address the issues of food insecurity within the context of land degradation, extreme poverty and social deprivation, this review seeks first to understand the main constraints to food production on smallholder farms in Africa. It then proposes a highly-adaptable, yet generic, 3-step solution aimed at reversing the downward spiral which traps subsistence farmers in hunger and poverty. This has been found to be effective in greatly increasing the yields of staple food crops and reducing the ‘yield gap’. This solution includes the restoration of soil fertility and ecological functions, as well as the cultivation, domestication and commercialization of traditionally-important, highly nutritious, indigenous food products for income generation and business development. A participatory approach involving capacity building at the community-level, leads to the development of ‘socially modified crops’ which deliver multiple environmental, social and economic benefits, suggesting that increased agricultural production does not have to be detrimental to biodiversity, to agroecological function, and/or to climate change. These are outcomes unattainable by attempting to raise crop yields using conventional crop breeding or genetic modification. Likewise, the livelihoods of smallholder farmers can be released from the constraints creating spatial trade-offs between subsistence agriculture and (i) international policies and (ii) globalized trade.

ACS Style

Roger R. B. Leakey. Converting ‘trade-offs’ to ‘trade-ons’ for greatly enhanced food security in Africa: multiple environmental, economic and social benefits from ‘socially modified crops’. Food Security 2018, 10, 505 -524.

AMA Style

Roger R. B. Leakey. Converting ‘trade-offs’ to ‘trade-ons’ for greatly enhanced food security in Africa: multiple environmental, economic and social benefits from ‘socially modified crops’. Food Security. 2018; 10 (3):505-524.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Roger R. B. Leakey. 2018. "Converting ‘trade-offs’ to ‘trade-ons’ for greatly enhanced food security in Africa: multiple environmental, economic and social benefits from ‘socially modified crops’." Food Security 10, no. 3: 505-524.

Review
Published: 14 March 2018 in Forests, Trees and Livelihoods
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ACS Style

Roger R. B. Leakey. A review of: “Applied Tree Biology”. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods 2018, 27, 139 -140.

AMA Style

Roger R. B. Leakey. A review of: “Applied Tree Biology”. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods. 2018; 27 (2):139-140.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Roger R. B. Leakey. 2018. "A review of: “Applied Tree Biology”." Forests, Trees and Livelihoods 27, no. 2: 139-140.

Review
Published: 04 August 2014 in Annual Review of Phytopathology
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Shifting agriculture in the tropics has been replaced by sedentary smallholder farming on a few hectares of degraded land. To address low yields and low income both, the soil fertility, the agroecosystem functions, and the source of income can be restored by diversification with nitrogen-fixing trees and the cultivation of indigenous tree species that produce nutritious and marketable products. Biodiversity conservation studies indicate that mature cash crop systems, such as cacao and coffee with shade trees, provide wildlife habitat that supports natural predators, which, in turn, reduce the numbers of herbivores and pathogens. This review offers suggestions on how to examine these agroecological processes in more detail for the most effective rehabilitation of degraded land. Evidence from agroforestry indicates that in this way, productive and environmentally friendly farming systems that provide food and nutritional security, as well as poverty alleviation, can be achieved in harmony with wildlife.

ACS Style

Roger R.B. Leakey. The Role of Trees in Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture in the Tropics. Annual Review of Phytopathology 2014, 52, 113 -133.

AMA Style

Roger R.B. Leakey. The Role of Trees in Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture in the Tropics. Annual Review of Phytopathology. 2014; 52 (1):113-133.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Roger R.B. Leakey. 2014. "The Role of Trees in Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture in the Tropics." Annual Review of Phytopathology 52, no. 1: 113-133.

Editorial
Published: 14 March 2014 in Forests, Trees and Livelihoods
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ACS Style

Verina Ingram; Patrice Levang; Peter Cronkleton; Ann Degrande; Roger Leakey; Patrick Van Damme. Forest and tree product value chains. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods 2014, 23, 1 -5.

AMA Style

Verina Ingram, Patrice Levang, Peter Cronkleton, Ann Degrande, Roger Leakey, Patrick Van Damme. Forest and tree product value chains. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods. 2014; 23 (1-2):1-5.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Verina Ingram; Patrice Levang; Peter Cronkleton; Ann Degrande; Roger Leakey; Patrick Van Damme. 2014. "Forest and tree product value chains." Forests, Trees and Livelihoods 23, no. 1-2: 1-5.

Forest and tree product value chains
Published: 14 March 2014 in Forests, Trees and Livelihoods
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Internationally, there is interest in increasing the trade in ‘green’ market products, such as organic, fair trade, reduction of deforestation and forest degradation/reduction of deforestation and forest degradation+ for reduced deforestation and mitigation of climate change, and environmental goods and services. This crucially needs to be extended to the many poor, hungry and marginalized smallholder farmers in developing countries. In this context, agroforestry tree domestication has made great progress over the last 20 years, especially in Africa with the emergence of many new tree crops for food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries across many agro-ecological zones. Tree domestication is important for the enhancement of economic returns as value chains from local to global become more sophisticated and demand higher quality, greater uniformity and a regular and continuous supply. Local farmers are now developing cultivars creating direct benefits from the marketing of food and non-food products in local and regional markets. This creates business and employment opportunities in local cottage industries. Likewise, through the indirect environmental and ecological services provided by trees, food security can be greatly enhanced by closing the yield gap (the difference between the potential and actual yield) of modern crop varieties. In this way, agroforestry is adding income generation to agroecological approaches which together reverse the cycle of land degradation and social deprivation and transforming the lives of poor farmers. However, these benefits do not come without some risks from the loss of genetic diversity, local rights over genetic resources and exploitation by unscrupulous entrepreneurs. Agroforestry developments are therefore focusing on better access to ‘green’ business opportunities for poor smallholder farmers in Africa by maximizing the benefits and minimizing the risks.

ACS Style

Roger Leakey; Patrick Van Damme. The role of tree domestication in green market product value chain development. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods 2014, 23, 116 -126.

AMA Style

Roger Leakey, Patrick Van Damme. The role of tree domestication in green market product value chain development. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods. 2014; 23 (1-2):116-126.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Roger Leakey; Patrick Van Damme. 2014. "The role of tree domestication in green market product value chain development." Forests, Trees and Livelihoods 23, no. 1-2: 116-126.

Book review
Published: 28 May 2013 in Forests, Trees and Livelihoods
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ACS Style

Roger R.B. Leakey. Towards the assessment of trees outside forests. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods 2013, 22, 212 -213.

AMA Style

Roger R.B. Leakey. Towards the assessment of trees outside forests. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods. 2013; 22 (3):212-213.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Roger R.B. Leakey. 2013. "Towards the assessment of trees outside forests." Forests, Trees and Livelihoods 22, no. 3: 212-213.

Book chapter
Published: 28 July 2012 in Advances in Agroforestry
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To explain the relationship between agroforestry and multifunctional agriculture, this chapter presents some of the key messages from the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) vis-à-vis the objectives of agroforestry. Multifunctional agriculture has been proposed as a paradigm for productive and sustainable agriculture, which is especially appropriate for poor smallholders in the tropics. Agroforestry, like multifunctional agriculture, has the objective of promoting economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable rural development. This chapter briefly summarizes some of the major global issues of land degradation, poverty, malnutrition, and hunger and examines how agroforestry can play a substantial role in the delivery of a better future. To illustrate these points, an integrated rural development project in Cameroon is presented as a good example of how agroforestry can rehabilitate degraded land, diversify farming systems with domesticated indigenous trees, and create business and employment opportunities in rural communities, which substantially improve the livelihoods of rural people.

ACS Style

Roger R. B. Leakey. Multifunctional Agriculture and Opportunities for Agroforestry: Implications of IAASTD. Advances in Agroforestry 2012, 203 -214.

AMA Style

Roger R. B. Leakey. Multifunctional Agriculture and Opportunities for Agroforestry: Implications of IAASTD. Advances in Agroforestry. 2012; ():203-214.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Roger R. B. Leakey. 2012. "Multifunctional Agriculture and Opportunities for Agroforestry: Implications of IAASTD." Advances in Agroforestry , no. : 203-214.

Book chapter
Published: 28 July 2012 in Advances in Agroforestry
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More than 420 research papers, involving more than 50 tree species, form the literature on agroforestry tree domestication since the 1992 conference that initiated the global programme. In the first decade, the global effort was strongly led by scientists working in humid West Africa; it was then expanded to the rest of Africa in the second decade, with additional growth in Latin America, Asia (mostly SE Asia) and Oceania. While the assessment of species potential and the development and dissemination of techniques for improved germplasm production were the principal activities in the first decade, the second decade was characterized by a growing research agenda that included characterization of genetic variation using morphological and molecular techniques, product commercialization, adoption and impact and protection of farmers’ rights. In parallel with this expanding research agenda, there was also an increasing use of laboratory techniques to quantify genetic variation of the chemical and physical composition of marketable products (e.g. essential oils, food-thickening agents, pharmaceutical and nutriceutical compounds, fuelwood). Looking to the third decade, suggestions are made for further development and expansion of both the science to underpin agroforestry tree domestication and applied research in support of development programmes to enhance the livelihoods of poor smallholder farmers worldwide.

ACS Style

Roger R. B. Leakey; John C. Weber; Tony Page; Jonathan P. Cornelius; Festus K. Akinnifesi; James M. Roshetko; Zacharie Tchoundjeu; Ramni Jamnadass. Tree Domestication in Agroforestry: Progress in the Second Decade (2003–2012). Advances in Agroforestry 2012, 145 -173.

AMA Style

Roger R. B. Leakey, John C. Weber, Tony Page, Jonathan P. Cornelius, Festus K. Akinnifesi, James M. Roshetko, Zacharie Tchoundjeu, Ramni Jamnadass. Tree Domestication in Agroforestry: Progress in the Second Decade (2003–2012). Advances in Agroforestry. 2012; ():145-173.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Roger R. B. Leakey; John C. Weber; Tony Page; Jonathan P. Cornelius; Festus K. Akinnifesi; James M. Roshetko; Zacharie Tchoundjeu; Ramni Jamnadass. 2012. "Tree Domestication in Agroforestry: Progress in the Second Decade (2003–2012)." Advances in Agroforestry , no. : 145-173.

Journal article
Published: 01 February 2011 in International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability
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Modern agriculture has deprived local communities in the tropics of their natural life-support system—the forest resource and the traditional knowledge about indigenous species—and this has not been replaced by employment opportunities or social services. This project in the west and northwest regions of Cameroon takes an innovative three-step approach to improving the lives of local people by establishing rural resource centres (RRCs) to: (i) Rehabilitate degraded land and promote food security through the use of nitrogen-fixing trees to restore crop yields and then the diversification of the farming system with new crops; (ii) Create income generation opportunities from village tree nurseries and the domestication of indigenous fruits and nuts for local and regional trade. Income is rising annually and currently averages $150, $16,000 and $21,000 per RRC after 2, 5 and 10 years, respectively; (iii) Encourage the processing and marketing of food crops and tree products in order to create employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for community members. Income is currently $2400 per enterprise. The project's philosophy is one of helping smallholder farming communities to help themselves: first to become self-sufficient and economically independent, and then to be a hub for the dissemination of knowledge and skills to neighbouring communities.

ACS Style

Ebenezar K. Asaah; Zacharie Tchoundjeu; Roger R. B. Leakey; Bertin Takousting; James Njong; Innocent Edang. Trees, agroforestry and multifunctional agriculture in Cameroon. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 2011, 9, 110 -119.

AMA Style

Ebenezar K. Asaah, Zacharie Tchoundjeu, Roger R. B. Leakey, Bertin Takousting, James Njong, Innocent Edang. Trees, agroforestry and multifunctional agriculture in Cameroon. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. 2011; 9 (1):110-119.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ebenezar K. Asaah; Zacharie Tchoundjeu; Roger R. B. Leakey; Bertin Takousting; James Njong; Innocent Edang. 2011. "Trees, agroforestry and multifunctional agriculture in Cameroon." International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 9, no. 1: 110-119.

Journal article
Published: 17 August 2010 in Chemistry & Biodiversity
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Phenotypic variation in heartwood and essential-oil characters of Santalum austrocaledonicum was assessed across eleven populations on seven islands of Vanuatu. Trees differed significantly in their percentage heartwood cross-sectional area and this varied independently of stem diameter. The concentrations of the four major essential-oil constituents (α-santalol, β-santalol, (Z)-β-curcumen-12-ol, and cis-nuciferol) of alcohol-extracted heartwood exhibited at least tenfold and continuous tree-to-tree variation. Commercially important components α- and β-santalol found in individual trees ranged from 0.8-47% and 0-24.1%, respectively, across all populations, and significant (P<0.05) differences for each were found between individual populations. The Erromango population was unique in that the mean concentrations of its monocyclic ((Z)-β-curcumen- 12-ol and cis-nuciferol) sesquiterpenes exceeded those of its bi- and tricyclic (α- and β-santalol) sesquiterpenes. Heartwood colour varied between trees and spanned 65 colour categories, but no identifiable relationships were found between heartwood colour and α- and β-santalol, although a weak relationship was evident between colour saturation and total oil concentration. These results indicate that the heartwood colour is not a reliable predictive trait for oil quality. The results of this study highlight the knowledge gaps in fundamental understanding of heartwood biology in Santalum genus. The intraspecific variation in heartwood cross-sectional area, oil concentration, and oil quality traits is of considerable importance to the domestication of sandalwood and present opportunities for the development of highly superior S. austrocaledonicum cultivars that conform to the industry's International Standards used for S. album. © 2010 Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta AG, Zürich

ACS Style

Tony Page; Ian Southwell; Mike Russell; Hanington Tate; Joseph Tungon; Chanel Sam; Geoff Dickinson; Ken Robson; Roger R. B. Leakey. Geographic and Phenotypic Variation in Heartwood and Essential-Oil Characters in Natural Populations of Santalum austrocaledonicum in Vanuatu. Chemistry & Biodiversity 2010, 7, 1990 -2006.

AMA Style

Tony Page, Ian Southwell, Mike Russell, Hanington Tate, Joseph Tungon, Chanel Sam, Geoff Dickinson, Ken Robson, Roger R. B. Leakey. Geographic and Phenotypic Variation in Heartwood and Essential-Oil Characters in Natural Populations of Santalum austrocaledonicum in Vanuatu. Chemistry & Biodiversity. 2010; 7 (8):1990-2006.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Tony Page; Ian Southwell; Mike Russell; Hanington Tate; Joseph Tungon; Chanel Sam; Geoff Dickinson; Ken Robson; Roger R. B. Leakey. 2010. "Geographic and Phenotypic Variation in Heartwood and Essential-Oil Characters in Natural Populations of Santalum austrocaledonicum in Vanuatu." Chemistry & Biodiversity 7, no. 8: 1990-2006.

Editorials
Published: 01 January 2010 in Forests, Trees and Livelihoods
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ACS Style

Roger R.B. Leakey; Jonathan P. Cornelius. GUEST EDITORIAL. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods 2010, 19, 199 -200.

AMA Style

Roger R.B. Leakey, Jonathan P. Cornelius. GUEST EDITORIAL. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods. 2010; 19 (3):199-200.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Roger R.B. Leakey; Jonathan P. Cornelius. 2010. "GUEST EDITORIAL." Forests, Trees and Livelihoods 19, no. 3: 199-200.

Editorials
Published: 01 January 2006 in Forests, Trees and Livelihoods
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ACS Style

Roger R B Leakey; T Page. GUEST EDITORIAL. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods 2006, 16, 3 -4.

AMA Style

Roger R B Leakey, T Page. GUEST EDITORIAL. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods. 2006; 16 (1):3-4.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Roger R B Leakey; T Page. 2006. "GUEST EDITORIAL." Forests, Trees and Livelihoods 16, no. 1: 3-4.