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Agroforestry; a decade of development
Forest Ecologyand Management, 26 (1989) 311-312 Elsevier SciencePublishersB.V., Amsterdam-- Printed in The Netherlands
311
Book Review ICRAF-- THE FIRST DECADE Agroforestry; a Decade of Development. H.A. Steppler and P.K.R. Nair (Editors). International Council for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), Nairobi, 1987, xii + 335 pp. US $30.00, ISBN 92-9059-036-X. Agro[orestry: a Decade of Development is a 17-chapter book with contributions from 18 authors. The chapters are grouped into sections, labelled as: Introduction (two chapters); Perspectives on agroforestry {three chapters); Prominence and importance of agroforestry in selected regions (five chapters ); Impact measurement and technology transfer (three chapters); and Research findings and proposals (four chapters). In effect, the first five chapters address institutional contexts, with an understandably strong historical leaning in Chapters 1 and 2. Reviews of various topics dominate (six chapters) two of the last three sections: The exception (the fourth section) outlines more practical principles in economics, socioeconomics and soil science. The function for the book is given as "commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the International Council for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF)" but neither the jacket nor the preface indentify an intended audience. Further, the editors (p. xi) decline to circumscribe the scope for fear of excluding inspiring ideas. It appears that this publication is aimed primarily at those already broadly familiar with the field. There is much merit in assembling a book from accounts provided by a team of globally acknowledged experts and the result is a volume which delivers what the title promises: almost every chapter is rich in pertinent material. Unfortunately, there are also disadvantages in this approach. Contributors of the calibre sought are widely scattered, and hold positions where time to devote to such assignments is limited, and it is customary for editors to show professional respect by minimizing specifications for material needed. In the present case, the importance of issuing the final version during the anniversary year inevitably exacerbates the time contraint. Taken individually, the chapters are commendably readable and informative accounts. The first four chapters are predictable in what they say. Of more significance are the chapters of the fourth section which will encourage readers to think of agroforestry practically and, above all, to register the crucial economic and socio-economic issues that too many on the biological side disregard. The review chapters range from strongly historical and descriptive (most of the regional commentaries ) and sometimes somewhat familiar (Chapter 14, alley-cropping) to stimulating accounts likely to be much consulted for some
312
years (Chapter 10, home gardens; Chapter 15, nitrogen fixation; Chapter 17, Leucaena ). Taking the book as a whole, reliance on the eminence of contributors has been at the expense of comprehensiveness and cohesion. In terms of aspects of the field, lack of specific contributins on experimentation and training seems dismissive of vigorous activity on both topics in recent years. Surely, a timely opportunity to distill state-of-knowledge reports from scattered (and often 'grey' ) literature has been lost. Geographically, even confining attention to the low latitudes - - and neither jacket nor preface indicates any such restriction coverage is fragmentary. Humid Africa, the South American mainland and the Far East fare badly, for example, although it is not true that agroforestry plays no role in these areas. Internal organization within the regional chapters varies considerably. While this certainly accords with the editorial reluctance to "force the papers into a common mould" it hampers inter-region comparison. A further consequence of the editors' benevolence is the repeated emergence of certain themes. Thus agroforestry, alley-cropping and home gardens are all defined in at least four places, and revealing information on alley-cropping that emerges in Chapters 11 (Economic consideration), 13 (Soil productivity) and 17 (Leucaena) would be more in context in Chapter 14. Overall, the wide experience of the writers shows clearly in the authority of their writing. Only rarely do statements seem misleading: Cordia alliodora with a height increment of 4.2-10o8 myear-l! (p. 78); Ficus capensis and F. sycomorus conspecific? (p. 92); Ceratonia native to East Africa? (p. 141 ). Typographical errors are few and essentially limited to unusual words or scientific names. It is nevertheless irritating to find nomenclatural inconsistency in plant names (e.g. variously Ziziphus and Zizyphus; Alnus acuminata on page 76 but A. jorullensis on page 252 ). As an anniversary publication this cannot be a book with prospects of revision, so what matters is the immediate impact. Regardless of the reservations expressed above, this will be a convenient unified source of information otherwise widely scattered. A foreseeable consequence of the activity this volume will stimulate is competition for an audience if ICRAF's 20th anniversary is marked in the same way. The field for the present publication is fairly clear, however, and priced reasonably by today's standards it should enjoy extensive circulation. -
-
JOHN B. HALL
School of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University College of North Wales, Bangor, Gwynned, Great Britain
311
Book Review ICRAF-- THE FIRST DECADE Agroforestry; a Decade of Development. H.A. Steppler and P.K.R. Nair (Editors). International Council for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), Nairobi, 1987, xii + 335 pp. US $30.00, ISBN 92-9059-036-X. Agro[orestry: a Decade of Development is a 17-chapter book with contributions from 18 authors. The chapters are grouped into sections, labelled as: Introduction (two chapters); Perspectives on agroforestry {three chapters); Prominence and importance of agroforestry in selected regions (five chapters ); Impact measurement and technology transfer (three chapters); and Research findings and proposals (four chapters). In effect, the first five chapters address institutional contexts, with an understandably strong historical leaning in Chapters 1 and 2. Reviews of various topics dominate (six chapters) two of the last three sections: The exception (the fourth section) outlines more practical principles in economics, socioeconomics and soil science. The function for the book is given as "commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the International Council for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF)" but neither the jacket nor the preface indentify an intended audience. Further, the editors (p. xi) decline to circumscribe the scope for fear of excluding inspiring ideas. It appears that this publication is aimed primarily at those already broadly familiar with the field. There is much merit in assembling a book from accounts provided by a team of globally acknowledged experts and the result is a volume which delivers what the title promises: almost every chapter is rich in pertinent material. Unfortunately, there are also disadvantages in this approach. Contributors of the calibre sought are widely scattered, and hold positions where time to devote to such assignments is limited, and it is customary for editors to show professional respect by minimizing specifications for material needed. In the present case, the importance of issuing the final version during the anniversary year inevitably exacerbates the time contraint. Taken individually, the chapters are commendably readable and informative accounts. The first four chapters are predictable in what they say. Of more significance are the chapters of the fourth section which will encourage readers to think of agroforestry practically and, above all, to register the crucial economic and socio-economic issues that too many on the biological side disregard. The review chapters range from strongly historical and descriptive (most of the regional commentaries ) and sometimes somewhat familiar (Chapter 14, alley-cropping) to stimulating accounts likely to be much consulted for some
312
years (Chapter 10, home gardens; Chapter 15, nitrogen fixation; Chapter 17, Leucaena ). Taking the book as a whole, reliance on the eminence of contributors has been at the expense of comprehensiveness and cohesion. In terms of aspects of the field, lack of specific contributins on experimentation and training seems dismissive of vigorous activity on both topics in recent years. Surely, a timely opportunity to distill state-of-knowledge reports from scattered (and often 'grey' ) literature has been lost. Geographically, even confining attention to the low latitudes - - and neither jacket nor preface indicates any such restriction coverage is fragmentary. Humid Africa, the South American mainland and the Far East fare badly, for example, although it is not true that agroforestry plays no role in these areas. Internal organization within the regional chapters varies considerably. While this certainly accords with the editorial reluctance to "force the papers into a common mould" it hampers inter-region comparison. A further consequence of the editors' benevolence is the repeated emergence of certain themes. Thus agroforestry, alley-cropping and home gardens are all defined in at least four places, and revealing information on alley-cropping that emerges in Chapters 11 (Economic consideration), 13 (Soil productivity) and 17 (Leucaena) would be more in context in Chapter 14. Overall, the wide experience of the writers shows clearly in the authority of their writing. Only rarely do statements seem misleading: Cordia alliodora with a height increment of 4.2-10o8 myear-l! (p. 78); Ficus capensis and F. sycomorus conspecific? (p. 92); Ceratonia native to East Africa? (p. 141 ). Typographical errors are few and essentially limited to unusual words or scientific names. It is nevertheless irritating to find nomenclatural inconsistency in plant names (e.g. variously Ziziphus and Zizyphus; Alnus acuminata on page 76 but A. jorullensis on page 252 ). As an anniversary publication this cannot be a book with prospects of revision, so what matters is the immediate impact. Regardless of the reservations expressed above, this will be a convenient unified source of information otherwise widely scattered. A foreseeable consequence of the activity this volume will stimulate is competition for an audience if ICRAF's 20th anniversary is marked in the same way. The field for the present publication is fairly clear, however, and priced reasonably by today's standards it should enjoy extensive circulation. -
-
JOHN B. HALL
School of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University College of North Wales, Bangor, Gwynned, Great Britain