Session 1: Background knowledge: Agroforestry and the Current Situation

What is agroforestry?

In simplest terms, agroforestry refers to “agriculture with trees” (World Agroforestry (ICRAF), 2019). In more technical terms, “agroforestry is a collective term for land-use systems and technologies in which woody perennials (e.g. trees, shrubs, palms or bamboos) and agricultural crops or animals are used deliberately on the same parcel of land in some form of spatial and temporal arrangement“ (FAO, 2020). The woody perennials could be inside the land parcels or on the boundaries (EURAF, 2020). 

In addition to that, there must be a significant interaction between the different components of the systems (World Agroforestry (ICRAF), 2019). The interactions could be ecological and/or economical (Nair, 1993). For example, some nitrogen-fixing tree species are grown to help improve the soil. The key concept of agroforestry is the deliberate inclusion of trees in farming systems or inclusion of crops in forests that induces significant interactions between different components, and thus improves the crops production and/or the natural environment.

 

 

A commonly used definition by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) explains agroforestry from a broader perspective:

“Agroforestry is a dynamic, ecologically-based natural resource management system that, through the integration of trees on farms and in agricultural landscapes or through the production of agricultural products in forests, diversifies and sustains production for increased economic, social and environmental benefits for land users” (FAO, 2020)."

 

References: 

EURAF. (2020). Agroforestry in Europe. Retrieved from European Agroforestry Federation: http://www.eurafagroforestry.eu/about/agroforestry-europe

FAO. (2020). Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Toolbox. Retrieved from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: http://www.fao.org/sustainable-forest-management/toolbox/modules/agroforestry/basic-knowledge/en/

Nair, P. (1993). An introduction to agroforestry. Springer Science and Business Media.

World Agroforestry (ICRAF). (2019). What is Agroforestry? Retrieved from World Agroforestry: http://www.worldagroforestry.org/about/agroforestry

 

Contents:

1. History and Development of Agroforestry

2. Types of Agroforestry

 

Continue to "History and Development of Agroforestry"