- In Uganda’s Pader district, communities are reviving shea parklands — traditional agroforestry systems where farmers have maintained shea trees alongside crops for generations.
- These managed landscapes support both farming and biodiversity while providing crucial ecosystem services through carefully spaced trees and traditional management practices.
- Drawing on Indigenous agricultural knowledge, farmers are integrating shea trees with food crops through methods proven to improve soil health and yields.
- While their efforts show promise, charcoal production and agricultural expansion threaten these traditional systems and the communities that depend on them.
PADER DISTRICT, Uganda — In northern Uganda’s Pader district, farmers are working to preserve agricultural landscapes that have fed their communities for generations. These shea parklands, where carefully maintained trees grow among food crops, represent centuries of agricultural knowledge at risk of being lost.
Unlike natural forests, these parklands are agricultural landscapes shaped by generations of farmers. According to research submitted to the Global Shea Alliance, communities historically created landscapes that balanced crop production with ecological diversity by selecting which trees to preserve during field clearing, and encouraging their natural regeneration on fallow land. The shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa) is central to this system.
“The shea nut tree and its products have been very significant in our traditional culture from time immemorial,” says Gillian Josephine P’Ochen in Lapaya village. “In our parklands, we have more than 50 other tree species that are also very significant in the ecosystem. I prefer to call this a paradise in the woods and a pharmaceutical arena. Because when you look at all the tree species, they are medicinal in one way or the other.”
She points to a mature African cherry (Prunus africana) growing alongside shea trees. “This tree’s bark has been used to treat fevers for generations,” she says. “Its thick leaves fall and decompose slowly, enriching the soil for our crops. This is how our ancestors designed these parklands — every species has multiple purposes.” Passion fruit and jackfruit trees add to the landscape’s diversity, providing additional food crops.
The integration of trees and crops requires careful attention to spacing and species selection. Sam Okello, a farmer in Lapaya village, demonstrates the integration of trees and crops. “We continue to plant beans, maize, soya beans and other crops beneath the shea trees,” he says. “The soil here remains fertile because of the trees. You cannot compare this area with places where trees have been destroyed.”
Modern research increasingly validates these traditional practices. Studies show that fungal networks fostered by traditional parkland management improve both shea root health and soil fertility. A study published last year in Agroforestry Systems demonstrated that crops grown in properly managed shea parklands benefit from increased soil moisture and moderate shade while maintaining high yields. The research highlights how traditional spacing patterns optimize light penetration and soil moisture retention.
While shea trees take eight to 25 years to begin fruiting, they can produce for up to 250 years when properly maintained in parkland systems. However, a combination of agricultural expansion, charcoal production, and changing land-use patterns threatens both the trees and the traditional knowledge systems that have sustained them.
Reinforcing traditional agroforestry
According to foundational research by Jean-Marc Boffa for the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in 2022, the primary threats come from the prolonging of cultivation periods and ever-shorter fallow periods crucial for natural regeneration. Boffa’s research identified widening use of mechanized agriculture on large-scale farms and uncontrolled tree cutting for firewood and charcoal as major pressures on these systems.
The IUCN Red List now categorizes the shea tree as vulnerable to extinction, with more than half of its population lost over recent generations.
In response to these challenges, Laban Turyagenda, director of research at the state-funded Ngetta Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (NgettaZARDI), says his organization is working to restore these traditional agricultural landscapes. In nearby Otuke district, they’ve provided more than 20,000 seedlings to locals while promoting traditional management practices.
NgettaZARDI is working to improve traditional cultivation techniques. Through careful grafting of mature shea branches onto younger trees, they’ve reduced the time to first fruit to 10 years, though long-term studies of these modified trees are ongoing. This innovation builds on traditional knowledge while addressing modern pressures for faster production.
The importance of shea trees extends beyond their economic value. A 2022 study in Scientific African highlighted how bats, birds and insects rely on shea for food while playing crucial roles in pollination and seed dispersal. “The rodents’ roads also carry them,” notes P’Ochen, describing the complex seed dispersal network. “The rodents mostly prefer the nuts inside. The different seedlings we find germinating here and there have been dispersed by the rodents, the birds, humans, and the bats.”
These ecological relationships contribute to soil health and biodiversity. The success of farmers like Okello has encouraged others to maintain young shea trees on their fields. P’Ochen notes how this aligns with historical practices: “Our indigenous tree species’ leaves fall and rejuvenate the soil. The new fast-growing exotic species people plant instead just destroy our soils.”
The parkland system provides natural climate resilience. According to the Global Shea Alliance report, these traditional agroforestry systems cope better with extreme weather events than treeless areas. The careful spacing of trees creates microclimates that protect crops and soil while maintaining productivity during periods of stress.
Despite these benefits, the traditional system faces ongoing challenges. The Global Shea Alliance report identifies several critical obstacles, including cultural shifts and complex land tenure issues that have disrupted parkland maintenance across Pader district and beyond.
As Uganda seeks sustainable solutions to environmental challenges, these traditional parkland systems offer valuable lessons in balancing human needs with ecosystem health. The revival of shea parklands demonstrates what Boffa’s research for CIFOR emphasized: improvement strategies should “build on and improve existing management practices rather than attempt to reinvent a brand new domesticated production system.”
Banner image: Lanyero Maureen Otika, a member of the Kanya Akanya shea growers’ group in Pader district, Uganda. Image by Pat Larubi for Mongabay.
Shea trees are falling fast across Africa, victims of new pressures (commentary)
Citations:
Jepsen, T., Stopponi, G., & Jørgensen, N. O. (2024). Shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertn.) agroforestry systems in northern Ghana: Population structure, management of trees and impact of below canopy microclimate. Agroforestry Systems, 98(6), 1493-1506. doi:10.1007/s10457-024-01019-1
Nasare, L. I., Stout, J., Lovett, P., & Kwapong, P. K. (2022). Determinants of Shea (Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertn.) fruit yield: A review of research approaches and current knowledge. Scientific African, 17, e01371. doi:10.1016/j.sciaf.2022.e01371
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