Abstract:
Trees form an integral part of the small-scale farm systems. Trees contribute to higher productivity of both crops and
animals. They contribute to soil fertility needed by crops through recycling nutrients from the deep soil layers to the top
soil layers through dropping of leaves. Tree species from the legume families are also able to fix atmospheric nitrogen and make it available for use by crops. Among other benefits, trees can provide fuelwood for cooking and lighting, fodder for livestock, timber for household use or sale and they also remove carbon from the air. Farms that have few trees, especially in arid and-semi-arid lands suffer from high temperatures and wind speeds resulting in faster drying of crops when rains are not enough. They are also likely to have less mulch to cover the soil thus losing nutrients and water and there is accelerated soil erosion which results in poor yields.