Promises and potentials do not grow trees and crops. A review of institutional and policy research in agroforestry for the Southern African region

The concept of agroforestry is heralded by decades of research and development investments. However, across the Southern African region, the results of implementing agroforestry have been underwhelming as very few people are adopting the available innovations. There is a growing assertion that targeted policies and institutions will be key in addressing this adoption gap. The success of agroforestry will depend on how its institutionalisation in national and local contexts occurs. Building on institutional theories, we conducted a review to examine prominent policy and institutional issues within agroforestry research. Forty-three peer-reviewed articles representing research from the Southern African region were analysed. To allow for a nuanced evaluation, the literature review was complemented by seven expert interviews. Our results show that the concept of AF is institutionalised in research and practice. However, whilst scientists and practitioners laude the concept and attach substantial potential to it; the policy and institutional dimensions of agroforestry remain murky. Policy and institutional issues are neither prominent in research nor is there evidence of a scientific interest aimed at the development of coherent theoretical frameworks. We contend that agroforestry might face the fate of becoming a global buzzword without significant results. We advocate for a shift towards a more policy and institutional oriented research process. Further research to understand national policy contexts through probing on the state of formal institutions will prove complementary to agroforestry implementation.