INTRODUCTION TO AGROFORESTRY

FORESTRY AGRICULTURE

AGROFORESTRY

ReforestationPlantationsNatural for managementEtc.

Annual cropsPerennial foragesLivestockEtc.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS/CONSTRAINTS

Subsistence farming Degraded soils

Shortage of fodder, fuelwood, small timber

Low capital, high labor

Land tenure constraints

Tree planting forreclamation of degraded lands

Buffer-zone agroforestry

Multi purpose-treewoodlots

farm./family forestry

Integrated systemsWith ‘Non-Forestry’ treese.g Home gardens,Plantations crop system

Woody perennials on farmse.g Soil conservation hedges,Fuelwood lots, boundary planting

AGROFORESTRY

The definition implies that;• AF normally involves two/more species of plants

(plants and animals).• And AF systems always has two /more outputs.• Cycle of AF is always more than 1 year.• Simplest AF system is more complex, ecologically

and economically, than a monocropping system.

AGROFORESTRY

• AF is an integrated approach of using the interactive benefits from combining trees and shrubs with crops and/or livestock.

• It combines agricultural and forestry technologies to create more diverse, productive, profitable, healthy and sustainable land use systems.

• In AF systems, tress or shrubs are intentionally used within agricultural systems, or non-timber forest resources are cultured in forest settings.

AGROFORESTRY

• AF systems can be advantageous over conventional agricultural and forest production methods through increased productivity, economic benefits, social outcomes and the ecological goods and services provided.

• AF integrates crops and/or livestock with trees and shrubs.

AGROFORESTRY

• The resulting biological interactions provide multiple benefits, including diversified income sources, increased biological production, better water quality, and improved habitat for both humans and wildlife

• Farmers adopt AF practices for two reasons. They want to increase their economic stability and they want to improve the management of natural resources under their care.

AGROFORESTRY

• AF Systems….• AF has been loosely defined as “trees plus any

other crop”, or as “combining trees with food crops”, but the most objective and comprehensive definition advanced so far as follows:…..

AGROFORESTRY

…AF is a system of land use where woody perennials are deliberately used on the same land-

management unit as annual agricultural crops and/or animals either sequentially or

simultaneously, with the aim of obtaining greater outputs on a sustained basis.

Major AF practices and their main characteristics

Classical forestry Agroforestry

Purpose management Long term, sustained yield Short term and long term yield

Management responsibility Centralized (state) organization

Mostly local population (farmer)

Land ownership Mostly government lands Often privately owned, sometimes government or communal lands

Area of production Large tracts of land Relatively small landholdings

Rotation period Long or medium Short, medium and long

Mode of production Commercial Subsistence, commercial or mixed

Destination of products Region of country Often to meet needs of local population

Products Lmited number, timber and other tree products

Variety of products, to include tree products. Agric. crops, forage, livestock

AGROFORESTRY

There are 3 attributes which, theoretically, all AF systems possess;

• Productivity – maintain to increase production, output, improved yields of associated crops.

• Sustainability – maintain conservation and fertility goals.

• Adoptability – accept, modify, change to local farming systems.