- Agro forestry is a sustainable management for the land that increases overall production, combines agricultural crops, tree crops, forest plants and animals simultaneously and applies management practices that are compatible with the cultural patterns of the local population.
- Agroforestry is a type of social forestry in which tree farming and fodder plants, grasses and legumes are grown on the farmers’ land.
- It involves raising of trees and agricultural crops either on the same land or in close association in such a way that all land including the waste patches is put to good use.
- The Indian Council for Agricultural Research and Forestry Department jointly undertake agroforestry research in order to develop suitable systems of land management which involves the integration of silviculture, with horticulture, agriculture and animal husbandry.
- This enables the farmer to get food, fodder, fuel, fruit and timber from his land.
- The land gives maximum production and provides employment to rural masses.
- Under agro forestry the farmer generally uses his degraded or useful land to plant trees for domestic use or commercial use.
- Agroforestry have become very popular in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
- Main Species of trees used are Eucalyptus, Poplar and Casuarinas.
- Wood is mainly used for fuel wood, Plywood, paper and pulp manufacturing and Match industry.
- The Agro forestry benefitted the Big farmers more than that of Marginal and small farmers.
- Agricultural Labourers do not get employment due to the agroforestry as big farmers’ plants tree crops in their big agricultural lands.
- Diversion of good agricultural land from cereal and commercial crops may create the problem of scarcity of food stuffs and industrial raw material.
Advantages of Agroforestry
- The absentee landlords go for agroforestry to retain title of the land and to increase their income.
- To manage the agricultural land even without the availability of family labour.
- To ensure better land use.
- To generate employment.
- To conserve soil moisture.
- To meet the needs of fuel wood, fodder and timber.
- To protect the arable land from wind and water erosion.
Adverse effect of AgroForestry
- Market oriented trees are preferred which damage the ecosystem. Instead of Poplar and eucalyptus, farmers should plant neem, Mahua, Arjun and Acacia.
- Fuelwood and fodder trees are generally neglected.
- Exotic varieties are soil-moisture and water exhaustive resulting in adversely affecting ground water table of the area.
- Land under agroforestry become unproductive as the roots of the tree become so dense that they need intensive labour for their removal.
- Trees become habitat for many pests and diseases which affect the crops.
- In the field where the trees are planted the productivity per unit area decreases.
