Volume 7, Issue 3, March – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology ISSN No:-2456-2165 IJISRT22MAR1103 www.ijisrt.com 994 The Community Perceptions and Attitudes about Agroforestry and Impediments to on-farm Trees/shrubs Growing and Management in Rajaf County-South Sudan Joseph Mayindo Mayele 1 *, Augustine Lokule Bongo 2 1 College of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, 1 College of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, University of Juba, P.o.box +82, Juba, South Sudan University of Juba, P.o.box +82, Juba, South Sudan Abstract:- The fundamental elements in sustainable agroforestry management are the Community’s perceptions and preference of those agroforestry practices that relates to impediments to grow and manage on-farms trees/shrubs. The study examined the varied dimensions of peoples’ perceptions and preference to agroforestry values towards its benefits and impediments to on-farm tree/shrub growing and management in rural communities of Rajaf County. The data were collected from four identified villages with 332 households’ respondents selected for interviews through simple random sampling. The data were then subjected to descriptive and analytical statistics. The results indicated respondents perceived AF practices as contributing fairly (41%) or poorly (29.5%) to food security and climate change. Household incomes (90.1%), need for food (87.0%), inadequate seedlings and seeds (75.3%), insecurity (74.4%) and sources of fire/fuelwood (64.5%) were expressed factors that highly influenced people’s participation in tree/shrubs growing and management. The perceived challenges preventing them from on-farms tree growing activities were majorly insecurity (97.6%), lack of inputs (91.0%), lack of trainings (89.8%), prevalence of pests and diseases (82.8%) and lack of capital to start (60.8%). The rural farmers also expressed their concern for trainings and received of inputs such as improved seeds, seedlings and farming tools majorly provided by World Vision (97%), Caritas (73.70%), and CRS (61.9%). The on-farms material value (sources of income) ranked (1 st to 5 th ) of agroforestry were perceived the most important while off-farm income sources were adjudged least important. Most of their expenditures were used for staple food, paying school fees and hire farm labour. Although these are said to be mare perceptions, the findings will help to enrich knowledge- base disorder to provide basis for decision and policy making for sustaining and managing on-farm trees/shrubs in any agroforestry. Integrating peoples’ perceptions in sustainable agroforestry management will enhance strategy in commensuration of future agroforestry developments and challenges. Keywords:- Agroforestry, Community/Farmers’ Perceptions, Impediments/Constraints, On-Farm Trees/Shrubs, Agroforestry Extension Services, Rajaf County, South Sudan. I. INTRODUCTION Any sustainable on-farm tree growing and management in agroforestry systems requires direct integration of people’s perceptions, attitudes and preferences on its uptake and impediments. According to [ 1 ] and [ 2 ], perception is a process where individuals organize and interpret their sensory impression in order to give meaning to their environment. Individual’s characteristics such as attitudes, motives, interests, past experiences and expectations influence the perceiver’s need [ 2 ]. This balances the social, economic, ecological, and cultural needs of present and future generations and to maintain and conserve forest resources besides offering the multiple uses [ 3 ]. The community decisions can increase the social acceptance of agroforestry and on-farm tree growing and management and to lessen differences among other agroforestry participants [4 ]. The community perceptions and attitudes about agroforestry practices values can assemble concepts about agroforestry whether of importance and desirables, or bad and undesirable [ 5 ]; [ 6 ]; [ 7 ]. These Agroforestry values are categorized into material and non-material. The material ones involved economic and life supporting while non-material values included socio- cultural, ethical, aesthetic and spiritual values. In most cases, they can also be referred to as intrinsic values that relate to agroforestry ecosystem services or conservative nature and instrumental values relates to satisfaction of human needs or wants such as in aesthetic, cultural, spiritual and ethical values. Communities’ perceptions of these agroforestry values vary from region to region, culture to culture and over time [ 8 ];[ 9 ]. For a long-term sustainable management of agroforestry resources to be successful, peoples’ perceptions and attitudes must be prioritized considering their needs, aspirations and to respect their opinions [ 10 ]. Once the community perceptions on agroforestry are favorable, assurance for agroforestry promotions and development become inevitable whereas