Agro-ecosystem and socio-economic role of homegarden agroforestry in Jabithenan District, North-Western Ethiopia: implication for climate change adaptation

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Table 1 Summarized characteristics of HGAF and NTBG at four villages, Jabithenan district, Ethiopia

	Garden Type
	HGAF	NTBG
Major characteristics and use for the household	High diverse species	Less diverse species
	Production is throughout the year	Production is once, rarely 2 times (irrigation)
	Saves working time during peak labor work month through provision of immediate fresh food	Households wait until the food is cook, time wasted
	High labor cost	Less labor cost
	Reduce cost of purchasing fertilizer	Use chemical fertilizers ( Incurs cost)
	Increase social intimacy through coffee ceremony	Involvement in coffee ceremony is limited to relatively well-off HHs.
	Use of fruits reduce frequency of request for meals and avoid hunger especially for children	Relatively higher frequency of request for meals 3 to 5 times/day

The study revealed that, different species grown in the homegarden gives different functional roles for the household. In HGAF, 77 and 67% of respondent consume fruit trees as food and generate cash income respectively. HGAF also provide fuel wood much greater than NTBG, which is the major energy source in the site. In addition to home use, some households get an income from fuel wood selling and 19% of respondent farmers also prepare charcoal from Acacia abyssinica.