Developing agroforestry curricula: a practical guide for academic institutions in Africa and Asia

In only a handful of years, agroforestry has gone from being an innovative but little noticed practice of smallholder farmers, to being a widely recognized system of agricultural production and natural resource management. As the research community increasingly studies how agroforestry relates to sustainable livelihoods and landscapes, it has earned the respectability of a science. As a young science, its horizons are being rapidly expanded by research. Thus an increasing range of agroforestry innovations and options are becoming available to farmers, planners and managers. For example, improved understanding of the environmental impacts of agroforestry shows the contribution it can make to soil conservation, improved biological diversity on farms, the regulation of water quality and flow in agricultural landscapes, or the prevention of floods and other natural disasters. These wider impacts have linked agroforestry land use to policies and governance at local, regional and international levels. In effect, decisions made by farmers are important to society at large. We are all connected. And policy makers are taking note. Indeed, agroforestry is now included in development and environmental policies in many developing countries. As society changes its view of agroforestry, so must education. A second important development in agroforestry is commercialization, and agroforestry is growing as a business in its own right. Marketing of agroforestry tree products and services has become an increasingly important area of research and innovation. Payments or other compensations for environmental services, as well as initiatives in ecotourism, offer new opportunities for rural communities. All of these developments have a bearing on how agroforestry is now conceived – and how it is taught.

---

• View source