The success of a national agroforestry policy in India has become a model for other countries

Key messages

• This brief looks at ICRAF’s support to develop the National Agroforestry Policy (NAP) in India, and how the policy became a model for similar efforts in other countries.
• Launched in 2014, India’s NAP modified regulations, making it easier to cut trees and transport timber on farmland. In addition, a programme with a $146 million budget was set up to promote agroforestry at the state level and simplify farming practices.
• The NAP enhanced research and innovation through its central role in transforming the National Research Centre in Agroforestry to the Central Agroforestry Research Institute (CAFRI). ICRAF and CAFRI collaborated to train farmers, including women, in agroforestry techniques to help put the NAP into action. In the decade between 2011 and 2021, India increased its tree cover by 490,400 ha. Meanwhile, by 2023, agroforestry was active on 8.65% of the country’s land.
• Drawing on its experiences in India, ICRAF supported several other countries in Asia and Africa to develop their own national agroforestry policies. Such efforts with Nepal, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and others, promoted sustainable agriculture and environmental conservation globally.

• View source

DOI:

Altmetric score:

Dimensions Citation Count: