Potential benefits of agroforestry systems integrating livestock activities in Guadeloupe (FWI)

International audience

English. The forest land reserve in Guadeloupe is 71,500 ha, representing 44% of the total land area. Forests have traditionally contributed to the economic development of the territory until the post-war bipolarization of the Guadeloupean "sugar cane/banana. The value-enhancement of Guadeloupe's private forests (48% of the total) is a major challenge for the territory in terms of groecological transition. In many Latin-America regions, agroforestry systems (AFS) include a significant proportion of livestock but very few do in Guadeloupe (F.W.I.). A great diversity of forests can be served according to the rainfall regime and the altitude, with a gradient of xerophilic, mesophilic and hygrophilic forests. In the driest zone the dominant type being semi-deciduous forest. In this study, AFS including livestock activities were classified through semi-open interviews (n = 50) based on two dimensions, the agricultural region and the farmer’s main production strategy. On average, AFS are family farming systems (more than 30%) and the percentage of farmers with multi-activities is high (77%). At first glance, beekeeping is the most widespread or most recognized activity in wooded areas. But there is evidence for the presence of other animals and breeding activities. Mixed tree-crop-livestock systems are very frequent, with 1/3rd of the sub-units devoted to animal husbandry. Farmers preferably raise small ruminants, backyard animals and large herbivores (20 to 25% of answers each), plus to a lesser extent, raise pigs and keep bees (12% each). Mixed animal units exist (50%) with between two and six species. More than 80% of farmers use their farm resources (pastures, natural fodder trees or crop by-products) to feed their animals. Even though self-consumption remains widespread (50% of responses), 80% of the farmers want to give a more economic orientation to their activities. The other responses (16%) concerned socio-cultural functions. This mixed system is a perequisite for agroecological transition.