By the end of this article, I know that you, like me, will believe that agroforestry is key in achieving a sustainable world for all generations to live in peace with nature. All you need to know are the answers to these questions:
What is agroforestry?
How does it differ from normal agriculture?
How does this all help the farmer, you know, financially?
What do forests do for us?
Can it really make a difference?
Firstly, I need to mention that the expression ‘agroforestry’ comes from the two words agriculture and forestry. It incorporates both these words because it is built upon the idea of having trees on farmland.
You need to know the three main types of Agroforestry:
Silvoarable
- Means only trees and crops in the same place together
Silvopastoral
- When only animals and trees grow in the same place together.
Agrosilvopastoral
- Finally, this means trees, crops and animals all developing in the same place together.
How does this differ from normal agriculture?
Well, normal agriculture cannot be done without deforestation. Usually, acres and acres of nutrient rich trees are needed to be cut down to grow profitable crops like soybeans, palm oil or cocoa. They also diminish these precious forests to make space for beef production. However, not only is this devastating as it contributes to global warming, it severely erodes hills and valleys. Not great.
More benefits of agroforestry
Back to agroforestry. Including trees with animals and crops can mean that a tree’s deep roots cause more water to be absorbed. Therefore, this causes much less water-logging and runoff - both of which cause erosion. Also, these deep roots of a tree are able to take in a lot more nutrients from the ground than the pasture. As a result, the fertilizers and manure do not leak into the water.
For animals, these trees provide shade from the, sometimes extreme, weather. Therefore, animal welfare is also improved. Speaking of animals, trees themselves bring biodiversity in plants, but also bring natural pest control in the form of birds.
How does this all help the farmer, you know, financially?
For a farmer, the trees may take several years to pay off - one reason they may not be willing to take part in agroforestry. However, tree products grown on farmland can be sold for a lot. We need to have long-term plans to combat climate issues, and we cannot solve them by cutting down land meant for farming to provide ‘more eco-friendly’ crops in the case of Californian Almonds. We need to plant trees that will pay off in the future - trees that aren't destroyed by modern consumerism. We need to grow forests.
What do forests do for us?
They cover 30% of the earth and have shaped the fragile ecosystems we have enjoyed for so long. Alternatively, we could discuss what cutting down forests have done for us.
Well, globally, the deforestation of forestry and agriculture (very different to agroforestry) are responsible for 24% of greenhouse gas emissions. Yikes! Deforestation means cutting down trees which results in the release of all of the CO2 inside of them. Not only that but, since trees absorb CO2, cutting them down means more greenhouse gases enter our atmosphere. Therefore, it accelerates global warming. This isn’t even mentioning the 4-6 thousand species whose habitat is the forest that go extinct every year - or the humans who get their food from there.
Can it really make a difference?
A huge yes! Think of the pressing climate issues of today: deforestation, animal abuse, dirty water, food scarcity for the farmers’ themselves, food waste releasing harmful gases, worsening biodiversity and an overall unsustainable relationship between humans and Mother Nature. Agroforestry, including trees in the agricultural process of growing crops or raising animals, can really have the most long-lasting social, economic and environmental benefits.
I urge you to read more about the disastrous effects of deforestation and how we are all contributing to it. Also, I hope you have learned about an alternative process that would eradicate all these issues. There are a few agroforestry advocacy groups world wide:
USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework Plan in the United States
European Commission’s AGFORWARD program in Europe Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada’s Agroforestry Development Centre in Canada
Farm Forestry National Action Statement and the Master TreeGrower Program (supported by the Australian Agroforestry Foundation) in Australia
In Japan, the Satoyama Initiative includes agroforestry concepts, though it covers a broad range of practices
By: Hemlata Pant
S/o to my best friend Alisa since it is her birthday at date of writing! Happy birthday!
Sources:
Brown, Sarah E., et al. “Evidence for the Impacts of Agroforestry on Agricultural Productivity, Ecosystem Services, and Human Well-Being in High-Income Countries: A Systematic Map Protocol.”Environmental Evidence, vol. 7, no. 1, 2018.Crossref, doi:10.1186/s13750-018-0136-0.
National Geographic. “Climate 101: Deforestation | National Geographic.”YouTube, 21 Aug. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic-J6hcSKa8. Accessed Feb 18, 2019
“What Is Agroforestry?”Https://Www.Youtube.Com/Watch?V=MZ6No1mL1QM, Trees woods & forest gardens - agroforestry arboriculture, www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ6No1mL1QM. Accessed 26 Apr. 2017.
National Geographic. “A Forest Garden With 500 Edible Plants Could Lead to a Sustainable Future | Short Film Showcase.”YouTube, uploaded by National Geographic, 18 Feb. 2019, youtube.com/watch?v=Q_m_0UPOzuI.
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