Session 5: Conclusions and Implications

With benefits in different aspects, agroforestry could become a potential solution to the future of food production as the world population grows and climate change intensifies. Apart from a productive system, agroforestry is also a more resilient approach to sustainable agriculture. It is also valuable in the regeneration of degraded land with poor soil.

However, the adoption of agroforestry system is not without any challenges. Although profitable in the long term, the low initial yield and delayed return on investment lower the incentives for farmers to adopt agroforestry. The environmental benefits may not be properly reflected in monetary terms but it contributes to the long-term sustainability of agricultural production.

Policy support from the government is one of the most important push factors to the wider adaptation of agroforestry, especially in terms of unleashing the potential of those idling farmland with high ecological value. The market also needs to be educated to recognise the externalities of conventional input-intensive agriculture and the value of the environmental services provided by agroforestry systems. 

Finally, the limited knowledge and experience in local context and the lack of skilled farmers are also major obstacles for wider adoption of agroforest systems. It takes time to accumulate the related knowledge and experience before stakeholders could understand and accept agroforestry as a new farming system. 

 

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