WAO Training Agroforestry

DAY 1:SESSION 3
Agroforestry Systems
Agroforestry systems - Field visit to Farms
Benefits of AF; Diversity of Plants
What is AGROFORESTRY?
Agroforestry is defined as ‘Agriculture with Trees’ or rather it is the interaction of agriculture and trees and
livestock.
Is an integrated system of rural land resources management based on the deliberate combination of trees or
shrubs with crops or livestock, whose interactions generate economic, environmental and social benefit
TYPES AGROFORESTRY
A: According to components
Classification of Agroforestry based on the basic components of Agroforestry
• Trees/Shrubs
• Crops, Pastures, and
• Animals
B. Classification according to function

a. Productive Agroforestry system: this system refers to the production of essential
commodities, required to meet the basic needs of the society. It includes intercropping of trees,
home gardens, plantation of trees in and around the crop field, production of animals and fishes
in association with trees. Productive functions are as follows:
 Food
 Fodder
 Fuelwood
b. Protective Agroforestry system: This system refers to protect the land, to improve
climate, reducewind and watererosion, improvesoil fertility, provideshelter,and otherbenefits,
e.g., windbreaks. Protective functions are as follows
 Windbreak
 Shelterbelt
 Soil conservation
 Moisture conservation
 Soil improvement
 Shade(for crop, animal and man )
 Livingfences
c. Multipurpose agroforestry system: It ensures multipurpose production thro ugh
optimizing both productive and protective functions, e.g., hedgerow intercropping and
home garden.
BENEFITSOFAGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS
A) Environmentalbenefits
 Global CO2 absorption

 Protection of biodiversity
 Contrasting soil erosion and desertification
 Reforestation
 Reduction of pressure on natural forests.
 More efficient recycling of nutrients by deep rooted trees on the site
 Better protection of ecological systems
 Improvement of micro climate,
B) Economic benefits
• Incrementinanoutputsoffood,fuelwood,fodder,fertilizerandtimber;
• Reductioninincidenceoftotalcropfailure,whichiscommontosinglecroppingor monoculture
systems
• Increaseinlevelsoffarm incomeduetoimprovedandsustainedproductivity
C) Socialbenefits
• Improvementinrurallivingstandards fromsustainedemploymentandhigher income
• Improvementinnutritionandhealthduetoincreasedqualityanddiversityoffoodoutputs
• Stabilization and improvement of communities through elimination of the need to shiftsites of

farm activities.
D) Biological benefits:
• Decreaseweedsinfection.
• Increasefruitsupply.
• Increaseforest productivity.
• Producediversifiedfoods.
• Increasecropproductivity.
• Sustaincrop productivity.
Agroforestry systems tend toprotect soil from several adverse effects, Most agro forestry systems
constitute sustainable land use and improve soils in a number of ways-
• Reduction of loss of soil by reducing surface run off
• Itaddsfertilizerthrough decomposable biomass
• Enrichthesoilthroughbiologicalnitrogenfixation
• Itimprovessoilphysicalconditions byincreasingwaterholdingcapacity.
• Ithelpsinnutrientrecyclingthatconserve soil.
• Itprotectsthenaturalfloraandfaunawithinthe soil
LIMITATIONOFAGROROFORESTRY
Environmentalaspect
• Possible competition of trees with food crops for space, sunlight, moisture and nutrients which
may reduce food crop yields
• Damage to food crops during tree harvest operation
• Potential trees to serve as hosts of insect pests that are harmful to food crops
• Rapid regeneration by prolific tree s, which may displace food crops and take over entire fields
Socio-economic aspects
• Requirement of more labour inputs ,which may cause scarcity at times in other farm activities
• Competition between tree and food crops, which could cause aggregate yields to be lower than
those of a single crop
• Longerperiodrequiredfortreestogrowtomaturityandacquireaneconomicvalue
• Agroforestryis morecomplex
WAYSTOOVERCOMETHE LIMITATIONSOFAGROFORESTRY
• By selecting legume trees that have small or light crowns so that sufficient sunlight will reach the
food crops for photosynthesis
• By selecting tree species that are deep rooted so that they will absorb moisture and
nutrientsfromthedeepersubsoilwhilethefoodcropsreceivetheirsharefromthesurface layer of the
soil
• Byspacingthetrees farther apartto reducetheircompetitive effects onthefoodcrops.
Farming Systems
Basically, there are three categories of Agroforestry systems:
• Agrosilvicultural systems: Trees with crops e.g. taungya and alley cropping
• Silvopastoral systems: Trees with livestock/pasture e.g. trees and shrubs on pastures and
multipurpose trees, fodder trees and shrubs grown on or around cropland
• Agrosilvopastoral systems: Trees with both crops and livestock e.g. compound farming
Enlarge Image
.
Trees along borders of fields.

(c) B.T. Kang, IITA (1996)
Alternative rows of plant components.

Alternative strips or alley cropping.
Random mixture of plant components.


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DAY 1:SESSION 3

Agroforestry systems - Field visit to Farms

Benefits of AF; Diversity of Plants

Classification of Agroforestry based on the basic components of Agroforestry

• Crops, Pastures, and

B. Classification according to function

 Global CO2 absorption

• Improvementinrurallivingstandards fromsustainedemploymentandhigher income

• Stabilization and improvement of communities through elimination of the need to shiftsites of

• Reduction of loss of soil by reducing surface run off

• Itaddsfertilizerthrough decomposable biomass

• Damage to food crops during tree harvest operation

• Byspacingthetrees farther apartto reducetheircompetitive effects onthefoodcrops.

Basically, there are three categories of Agroforestry systems:

Trees along borders of fields.

Alternative rows of plant components.

Random mixture of plant components.

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