Sustainability of Faidherbia albida-Based Agroforestry in Crop Production and Maintaining Soil Health

Faidherbia (Faidherbia albida), previously known as Acacia albida, is a leguminous woody tree widely distributed throughout Africa and the Middle East. This species plays a critical role in both crop and animal production systems, and because of its unique phenology, it is considered an ideal agroforestry species in Africa. Although the effects of Faidherbia on soil properties and crop yields have been the subject of several decades of research, there is still a dearth of information on the sustainability of Faidherbia-based traditional and new agroforestry practices. In this review, we applied the sustainable intensification (SI) framework to provide an up-to-date synthesis of the evidence for sustainability of Faidherbia-based agroforestry in sub-Saharan Africa. The analysis of SI indicators suggests the sustainability of Faidherbia-based agroforestry systems in terms of productivity, human well-being and economic and environmental sustainability. Maize and sorghum productivity were increased by 150 and 73% under the canopy compared to the open area, respectively. In 96% of the cases, soil organic carbon was found to increases under the canopy relative to the open area. The tree adds significant amounts of nutrients to soil, thus improving the growing conditions for crops.