The adoption of agroforestry at large scale appears to be an efficient solution for the conservation of biodiversity and the well-being of local communities, especially in developing countries. The present study analyzes the factors that influence farmers ‘decisions to adopt agroforestry technology promoted by the Ecosystem Based Adaptation (EBA) approach in the 20th Ramsar site of Burkina Faso. We identified the major constraints for adopting agroforestry and discussed the criteria for choosing smallholders to conserve and preserve certain tree species in their farmlands. Data were collected from 120 households in three villages concerned by the agroforestry experience using the EBA approach. The collected data were analysed using logistic regression to predict the agroforestry technique adherence variable and then the chisquare independent test was used to analyze the association between gender and agroforestry plant use variables. Results showed that, gender, education level and farmland size, availability of seeds and plants, training in agroforestry had a strong influence on farmers' decision to keep or incorporate desired trees in their farmlands. In addition, the kind and type of use of agroforestry species influence the farmer’s choice to integrate or conserve them in their farmlands. Women appreciate trees in farmland for their nutritional, aesthetic and environmental conservation roles; whereas men are favourable for their economic role. Taking these findings into account could considerably improve the participatory programs of local communities in the adoption of agroforestry.

Agroforestry, Conservation, Climate smart agriculture, Ecosystem Based Adaptation, Farmers’ perceptions, Smallholders