Smallholder /ˈsmôlhōldər/ noun

January 8, 2020

Definition: A farmer who owns a small plot of land on which they cultivate subsistence crops.

In sub-Saharan Africa smallholder farms rely almost exclusively on family labor.

At Trees for the Future (TREES), our programs address the challenges of smallholder farmers:

• inefficient monoculture systems
• land degradation
• climate change
• nutrition deficiencies
• cyclical poverty
• emigration

Forest Garden fact: The Forest Garden Approach  prevents monocropping; a common method used by smallholders which consists of sowing entire fields with just one crop that is harvested once a year.  In our training workshops, we work with smallholder farmers to diversity crop systems while planting trees that serve as fertilizer, fodder and fuel.

Did you know? Each Forest Garden is optimized with the farmer in mind. TREES conducts thorough market research and trains smallholders to plant a variety of crops that will provide lasting nutritional and economic benefits. We even share our agroforestry training resources online for free! Want to grow your own Forest Garden? Join our community!