Introductory Agroforestry

Agroforestry Planning

 Agroforestry Planning of Farms:-

• Agroforestry is the management of interactions between trees, crops and livestock in each of the farms plots, aiming to reach the objectives set by the farmer or the family
• Interactions are the effects of one component over another component
• Interactions are always not positive it may negative and compete for the different resources For example. Dense canopy trees in cropped areas create a shade to the underground crop and thus the interaction may fall on negative side
• The manager must take advantages of positive interactions and eliminate or reduce negative interactions
• The agroforestry planning of farms allows manager to manage interaction in order to maximize production, value and conservation
• The agroforestry planning of farms is applicable to farms of all sizes
• Researchers in developing countries are trying to reach out to farmers through on-farm experimentation.
• The partnership is still somewhat one sided.
• Scientist go out to the farmers and bring back information to help them
• Decide how best to make their technologies more relevant to their client’s needs.
• What is needed is a communication channel in which information about technology and research needs and priorities flows with equal ease in both directions.
• The farmer or other land user makes the final decision on whether or not to adopt an agroforestry technology for use in a particular land use system.
• In order to help agroforestry researchers, ICRAF's team of anthropologists, economists, agricultural and forestry researchers - together with participating men and women farmers have developed a methodology for the diagnosis of land management problems and the design of agroforestry solutions.
• This is simply a systematic approach for applying to agroforestry the common sense medical principle that ‘diagnosis should precede treatment’.
Constraints of Agroforestry:-

• The interference of trees decreases the crop yield which is lower than the monocropping.
• The tree canopy absorbs maximum light and causes competition for light.
• Felling of trees causes damage to the arable crop.
• Competition for moisture between trees and arable crops is maximum when the trees have not deep tap root system.
• Some of the trees serves as host to pest that harm main crop.
• Agroforestry system requires more for its management.
• Longer gestation period for tree delay the returns to the farmer.
• Farmers give more weight-age to field crops compare to tree crop.
• Certain tree species produce chemical exudation which affects the growth of agriculture crops.