Agroforestry: realising the promise of an agroecological approach

Agroforestry is a dynamic, ecologically-based, natural resource management system that, through the integration of trees on farms and in the agricultural landscape, diversifies and sustains production and contributes to more resilient rural livelihoods. Drawing on the most recent science and case studies, especially from the work of the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and its partners, this chapter explores the contributions of agroforestry to the management of agricultural landscapes and the strengthening of rural livelihoods, taking account of the fine-scale variation and heterogeneity that are a feature of these landscapes. There is growing evidence from across the developing world that the adoption of agroforestry is helping to restore the productivity and resilience of landscapes, as well as contributing to the goals of food, nutrition and income security for smallholders and other vulnerable groups in society. Because development challenges are emergent properties of a complex system they can only be tackled by systems approaches, such as agroforestry, based on a sound understanding of ecology and a better understanding of the social and economic systems of the people who inhabit these landscapes. The case studies focus especially on the contributions of agroforestry to improving the agroecology of large-scale plantations as a means of testing the scalability of this body of work. Investments, including from the private sector, are helping to scale up agroforestry-based agriculture and this chapter touches on the evolving nature of these investments as an important contributor to the widespread adoption of agroforestry. It closes with an identification of opportunities and challenges for agroforestry in the context of rising populations, climate change, shifting demographics and changing consumption patterns.

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