The Community Perceptions and Attitudes about Agroforestry and Impediments to on-farm Trees/shrubs Growing and Management in Rajaf County-South Sudan

The fundamental elements in sustainable agroforestry management are the Community’s perceptions and preference of those agroforestry practices that relates to impediments to grow and manage on-farms trees/shrubs. The study examined the varied dimensions of peoples’ perceptions and preference to agroforestry values towards its benefits and impediments to on-farm tree/shrub growing and management in rural communities of Rajaf County. The data were collected from four identified villages with 332 households’ respondents selected for interviews through simple random sampling. The data were then subjected to descriptive and analytical statistics. The results indicated respondents perceived AF practices as contributing fairly (41%) or poorly (29.5%) to food security and climate change. Household incomes (90.1%), need for food (87.0%), inadequate seedlings and seeds (75.3%), insecurity (74.4%) and sources of fire/fuelwood (64.5%) were expressed factors that highly influenced people’s participation in tree/shrubs growing and management. The perceived challenges preventing them from on-farms tree growing activities were majorly insecurity (97.6%), lack of inputs (91.0%), lack of trainings (89.8%), prevalence of pests and diseases (82.8%) and lack of capital to start (60.8%). The rural farmers also expressed their concern for trainings and received of inputs such as improved seeds, seedlings and farming tools majorly provided by World Vision (97%), Caritas (73.70%), and CRS (61.9%). The on-farms material value (sources of income) ranked (1st to 5th) of agroforestry were perceived the most important while off-farm income sources were adjudged least important. Most of their expenditures were used for staple food, paying school fees and hire farm labour. Although these are said to be mare perceptions, the findings will help to enrich knowledgebase disorder to provide basis for decision and policy making for sustaining and managing on-farm trees/shrubs in any agroforestry. Integrating peoples’ perceptions in sustainable agroforestry management will enhance strategy in commensuration of future agroforestry developments and challenges