AGROFORESTRY
AGROFORESTRY
AGROFORESTRY
IN GOLO NGAWAN
VILLAGE
In 2002, local NGO Ayo Indonesia started to promote sustainable agriculture to the farmers’
group ‘Suka Maju’ in Meni in Golo Ngawan village in the East Manggarai district on the island of Flores,
Indonesia. They were introduced to new ideas for land conservation and agroforestry to increase land
productivity.
People started planting trees from the pea family and cash crops and some nurseries for trees were also
developed. In the beginning only 16 farmers joined the programme as most farmers in Manggarai do not like to
follow an activity without seeing good results first. The 16 group members were challenged to prove that a real
change could be made.
The agroforestry programme aims to:
• increase land productivity
• protect the local environment
• guarantee food security
• produce extra income
It consists of planting various kinds of cash crops (cocoa, bananas, mahogany, cloves and
Gmelina arborea), trees from the pea family and food crops on the terraced land using a
particular planting pattern for every kind of crop. On the inner side of the land cash crops and
food crops are planted. Calliandra, mahogany and Gmelina arborea are planted on the outer
side of the land with 3 x 4 metres planting space between each tree. Calliandra is important
since it can improve land fertility and can be used by families for firewood (see p3).
Calliandra must be pruned regularly. When the cut parts are buried they become an extra
fertiliser.
After eight years of hard work the farmers can now harvest the fruits of success. All the trees that
were planted are very productive. Every member has an average extra income of 1.66 million
Indonesian rupiah (US$ 185) each year from agroforestry.
CASE STUDY
IN Mt. MERAPI
There are three types of AF systems practiced by people in Mt. Merapirisk and hazard-prone
areas: agrisilviculture, silvopasture, and agrosilvo-pasture. These three types are found to match the
people’sneeds, besides the available natural resource. Agrisilviculturecombines food crops and trees
silvopasture combines trees and livestock and agrosilvopasture combining food crops, trees, and livestock
.Each area of Mt. Merapihas its own type of AF. Jemo is dominated by silvopasture, followed by
agrosilvopasture and agrisilviculture respectively. AF contribution in Mt. Merapirisk and hazard-prone
areas varies, including food supply, farming income, land restoration/conservation, water conservation,
and crop protection. AF adopters have their own reasons to adopt this system basedon the farmer’s needs
and environmental conditions .AF supplies food for Jemowo with a mean of 3.66. Leakey (2014) stated
that AF can be used as food resource both for household and commercial usage and this system can help
to generate income.
The common thing in all AF adopters
is that they will cut branches in the rainy season, to give more sunlight to the crops.
Additionally, for Jackfruit, the leaves can be used as fertilizer.
In conclusion, AF practices in Mt. Merapirisk and hazard-prone areas have started from the older
generations. Therefore, the current generation felt that AF practices are not difficult for the system.
There are three types of AF that people are practicing: agrisilviculture, silvopasture, and
agrosilvopasture. This study shows that AF provides food or income and can become one of the
mitigation strategies for Mt. Merapihazards. The AF system can become the method for land and
water conservation, and most importantly as coping strategies for Mt.
Merapihazards and risks. Additionally, crops are used as protection from the Mt. Merapi hazards.
Increasing this system practices in Mt. Merapirisk and hazard-prone area will good benefits for all
parties.
CONCLUSION In recent years, agroforestry has gained increasing
attention as an option to simultaneously alleviate poverty,
provide ecological benefits, and mitigate climate change.
The present study simulates small-scale farmers’
agroforestry adoption decisions to investigate the
consequences for livelihoods and the environment over
time.In countries that rely on small-scale farms as their
main source of income, these practices could improve the
standard of living through increased agricultural productivity
while also reducing carbon emissions.
THANK YOU
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