The challenge of HIV/AIDS: where does agroforestry fit in?

In its early stages, the global HIV/AIDS epidemic was predominantly an urban problem. It affected more men than women, and those with relatively higher incomes. The epidemic has moved rapidly into rural areas and now, the majority of people living with and dying from HIV/AIDS are the rural poor. Among them, women comprise a disproportionately high number. Although up to 80 percent of the people in the most affected countries depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, there have been limited responses from governmental and non-governmental actors in the agriculture and natural resource sectors. This chapter discusses the impact of HIV/AIDS on rural livelihoods and the ways in which agroforestry could help mitigate those impacts. The chapter concludes that agroforestry interven - tions can improve communities’ long-term resilience against HIV/AIDS and other external shocks in ways that agricultural interventions alone cannot. Agroforestry technology can be better tuned to re - spond to the cash, labour, food and asset shortages faced by AIDS-affected communities. By providing options for producing nutritious food, managing labour, generating income and enhancing soil fertility, agroforestry technologies can help reduce hunger and promote food security. The authors recommend that current and future agroforestry programmes and forest policies should be reviewed to assess their effects on key determinants of HIV vulnerability. They also recommend some responses that can be made by agroforestry research and development organizations.

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