Farmers’ perception of the effects of some preserved tree species in the coffee and cocoa agroforests in togo (West Africa)

A survey conducted in the forest zone of Togo with 317 coffee and cocoa farmers, made it possible to identify the species appreciated or detested by the farmers in the coffee and cacao orchards. It also helped to know the reasons why these species are preserved or not. In the coffee plantations, the first most appreciated and suitable species to be preserved were Erythrophleum suaveolens (76.2%), Khaya grandifoliola (76.1%), Albizia adianthifolia (72.3%), Milicia excelsa (68.4%), Albizia zygia (56.1%), Terminalia ivoiriensis (40.1%) and Terminalia superba (40.1%). In the cocoa plantations, the farmers preferred Milicia excelsa (65.2%), Albizia adianthifolia (56.5%), Terminalia ivoiriensis (52.2%), Terminalia superba (52.2%) and Khaya grandifoliola (39.1%).The mains reasons why these farmers prefer these species were related to the quality of the shading they provided (95%), the improvement of the soil fertility and preservation under their feet (93%) and the supply of quality timber (92%).The most detested forest tree species in coffee agroforests were Cola chlamydantha (89%), Cola nitida (89%), Ceiba pentadra (88%), Milicia excelsa (86%), Bombax costatum (79%) and Mangifera indica (77%), while in cocoa plantations, Bombax costatum (93%), Cola nitida (91%), Anogeisus leicarpus (88%), Cola chlamydantha (87%) and Glyricidia sepium (80%) were preferred, because they were impoverishing and hardening the soil (89%), providing a bad shading (78%) and invading the orchards (75%). Lots of information was collected for a better orientation of the preservation and dissemination strategies of the plant genetic resources in the production area for enhancing sustainable coffee and cocoa cropping in Togo.