Main Article Content
Abstract (in English)
Climate change poses a serious threat to food security in Afghanistan through drought, rainfall variability, water scarcity, land degradation, and declining agricultural productivity. The review aimed is to assess the potential of agroforestry for enhancing climate resilience, food security, and rural livelihoods in Afghanistan. Agroforestry, which integrates trees with agricultural crops and/or livestock, is a climate-smart and multifunctional approach for addressing these challenges. By enhancing carbon sequestration and storage, soil and water conservation, biodiversity, food production diversity, and the resilience of rural livelihoods, agroforestry can help reduce the adverse impacts of climate change. This narrative review examined scientific, governmental, and institutional sources published between 2010 and 2025, including literature retrieved from Google Scholar, JSTOR, and PubMed. Of the 420 publications initially identified, 103 relevant studies were analyzed in relation to agroforestry, climate change, food security, agricultural production, and economic sustainability. A qualitative thematic approach was employed to analyze the available evidence and identify major themes and findings. The findings indicate that agroforestry has substantial potential to improve food availability and diversity, soil fertility, water conservation, carbon storage, ecosystem resilience, and rural incomes. In Afghanistan, agroforestry systems based on species such as pistachio, wild almond, willow, mulberry, eucalyptus, and plane trees show considerable potential for expansion. However, their wider adoption remains constrained by limited scientific and field-based evidence, inadequate technical and institutional capacity, limited financial support, and uncertainties surrounding land ownership and use. Future research should focus on the long-term impacts of agroforestry across Afghanistan’s diverse climatic regions, particularly its potential for carbon sequestration, soil and water conservation, agricultural productivity, economic benefits, and rural livelihood resilience. Such research is essential for developing effective, locally appropriate management approaches. Overall, agroforestry represents a promising climate-smart strategy that can simultaneously strengthen food security, climate resilience, ecosystem sustainability, and rural livelihoods in Afghanistan.