Farmers are often portrayed as victims of climate change. In reality, they are also some of the most powerful actors in the fight against it. Across rural Nigeria, a quiet transformation is underway, one that blends food production with forest restoration, livelihoods with climate action, and sustainability with profit. This approach is agroforestry, and it may well determine whether our reforestation ambitions succeed or fail.
Agroforestry is the intentional integration of trees into crop and livestock farming systems. It is not a new concept; many traditional Nigerian farming practices have long combined trees, crops and animals. What is new is the urgency with which agroforestry is now being rediscovered as a climate, food security and economic strategy.
Nigeria continues to lose forest cover at an alarming rate, driven by logging, fuelwood harvesting, urbanisation and, critically, agricultural expansion. At the same time, millions of smallholder farmers are grappling with declining soil fertility, erratic rainfall, rising temperatures and shrinking yields. Any environmental solution that treats forests and farms as competing land uses is therefore destined to fail.
This is where agroforestry changes the narrative. Rather than asking communities to choose between farming and forests, it allows them to do both simultaneously and sustainably.
Well-designed agroforestry systems improve soil health through increased organic matter, nitrogen fixation and reduced erosion. Trees provide shade that lowers soil temperatures and reduces moisture loss, making crops more resilient to heat stress and drought. Windbreaks protect farms from extreme weather, while tree roots stabilise land and reduce flooding risks.
From a climate perspective, agroforestry sequesters carbon both above and below ground. From an economic perspective, it diversifies income. Farmers can harvest fruits, nuts, timber, fodder, resins and medicinal products alongside their staple crops. In volatile economic times, this diversification is not a luxury; it is a survival strategy.
Across Nigeria, practical examples are already emerging. Cocoa agroforestry systems in the South-West are integrating shade trees that improve yields while restoring degraded landscapes. In the Middle Belt, farmers are combining nitrogen-fixing trees with maize and cassava to regenerate depleted soils. In parts of the North, shelterbelt and parkland systems are helping communities combat desertification while sustaining food production.
Yet, despite its promise, agroforestry remains underutilised in mainstream climate and reforestation programmes. Too many tree-planting initiatives focus on hectares planted rather than improved lives. Saplings are distributed without long-term management plans, land tenure realities are ignored, and communities are treated as beneficiaries rather than partners. The result is predictable: high seedling mortality, community resistance, and projects that look impressive on paper but deliver little lasting impact on the ground.
This brings us to an uncomfortable but necessary truth: reforestation and environmental sustainability projects will fail if food sustainability and community impacts are neglected.
Communities cannot be expected to protect forests if doing so threatens their ability to feed their families. Asking farmers to give up productive land for tree planting, without offering viable livelihood alternatives, creates a direct conflict between environmental goals and human survival. In such contexts, forests will always lose.
Agroforestry resolves this conflict by aligning incentives. When trees contribute directly to household income and food security, farmers have a vested interest in their survival. Environmental stewardship becomes economically rational, not externally imposed.
For policymakers and corporate actors investing in ESG, this has important implications. Social and environmental goals cannot be pursued in silos. A climate project that reduces emissions but increases food insecurity is not sustainable. Likewise, a reforestation programme that excludes local communities from design, ownership and benefits is unlikely to endure.
Nigeria’s ESG journey, particularly under the growing expectations of global sustainability standards, demands more integrated thinking. Climate mitigation, adaptation, food systems, livelihoods and biodiversity must be addressed together. Agroforestry offers a rare opportunity to do exactly that.
To scale agroforestry effectively, three things are critical. First, enabling policies that recognise and support tree-based farming systems, including land tenure security for smallholder farmers. Second, access to finance and technical support tailored to agroforestry’s longer-term returns, rather than short-term yield cycles. Third, genuine community engagement, not as an afterthought, but as the foundation of project design.
For the private sector, agroforestry also presents a compelling ESG opportunity. Companies can support resilient supply chains, reduce Scope 3 emissions, enhance biodiversity and deliver measurable social impact all while strengthening relationships with farming communities. Done well, this is ESG with integrity, not optics.
As Nigeria races to address climate change and environmental degradation, we must resist the temptation of simplistic solutions. Planting trees is not enough. Protecting forests is not enough. Sustainability that ignores people, food and livelihoods is not sustainable at all.
Agroforestry reminds us of a fundamental principle: the future of our forests is inseparable from the future of our farmers. If we get this right, rural communities will not just survive the climate transition; they will lead it.
Sarah Esangbedo Ajose-Adeogun is the Founder and Managing Partner at Teasoo Consulting. She is a former Community Content Manager at Shell Petroleum Development Company and served as the Special Adviser on Strategy, Policy, Projects and Performance Management to the Government of Edo State. She is also the host of the #SarahSpeaks podcast on YouTube @WinningBigWithSarah, where she shares insights on leadership, strategy, and sustainable growth.
