Exploring intercropping as a sustainable system approach for smallholder farming: A literature review

Global food shortage is known to be caused by increasing population, adverse weather conditions, droughts, and poor food distribution. The bulk of this population reside in rural areas of Sub-Saharan African countries, with large numbers experiencing food insecurity. Industrialized farming has contributed significantly to the food supply but has a harmful effect on the environment due to the intensive use of chemical fertilizers which deteriorates soil and water quality. As a result, intercropping, the planting of two or more crop species simultaneously in the same field area is now being re-evaluated as a sustainable system approach for smallholder farmers. Smallholder farming employs more rural people and uses fewer external inputs for production which have less impact on the environment compared to mechanized agriculture, making them more suitable for sustainable farming. This paper evaluated relevant research done on intercropping systems and identified gaps for future research. Overall, the studies, through a series of experimental trials have proven that intercropping systems can increase crop yield, stability, and net income and produce low carbon footprint compared to the traditional monoculture. The system, however, has some disadvantages, such as yield reduction of the main crop due to competition, higher cost of maintenance in weeding, and damage to other crops during harvesting. There is also limited to no data investigating the economic viability and adoption of intercropping. These are major concerns that need to be investigated to obtain optimum benefits from the system and allow a steadily transition into a green economy.