What is Agro Forestry?

Agroforestry is a collective name for land-use systems involving trees combined with crops and/or animals on the same unit of land. It combines

1. Production of multiple outputs with protection of the resource base;
2. Places emphasis on the use of multiple indigenous trees and shrubs;
3. Particularly suitable for low-input conditions and fragile environments;
4. It involves the interplay of socio-cultural values more than in most other land-use systems; and
5. It is structurally and functionally more complex than monoculture.

Definition

1. Agroforestry is any sustainable land-use system that maintains or increases total yields by combining food crops (annuals) with tree crops (perennials) and/or livestock on the same unit of land, either alternately or at the same time, using management practices that suit the social and cultural characteristics of the local people and the economic and eco­logical conditions of the area.
2. Agroforestry is a collective name for a land-use system and technology whereby woody perennials are deliberately used on the same land management unit as agricultural crops and/or animals in some form of spatial arrangement or temporal sequence. In an agroforestry system there are both ecological and economical interactions between the various components.

The difference with Social Forestry

• Social forestry is defined as “Forestry outside the conventional forests which primarily aim at providing a continuous flow of goods and services for the benefit of people. This definition implies that the production of forest goods for the needs of the local people is Social forestry. Thus, social forestry aims at growing forests of the choice of the local population.
• Shah (1985) stated that Conceptually Social forestry deals with poor people to produce goods such as fuel, fodder etc. to meet the needs of the local community, particularly the underprivileged section.

BENEFITS OF AGROFORESTRY SYSTEM

A) Environmental benefits

1. 1. Reduction of pressure on natural forests.
1. ii More efficient recycling of nutrients by deep-rooted trees on the site
   2. Better protection of ecological systems
   3. Reduction of surface run-off, nutrient leaching and soil erosion through impeding effect of tree roots and stems on these processes
   4. Improvement of microclimates, such as lowering of soil surface temperature and reduction of the evaporation of soil moisture through a combination of mulching and shading
   5. Increment in soil nutrients through addition and decomposition of litterfall.
   6. Improvement of soil structure through the constant addition of organic matter from decomposed litter.

B) Economic benefits

• Increment in the outputs of food, fuel wood, fodder, fertiliser and timber;
• Reduction in the incidence of total crop failure, which is common to single cropping or monoculture systems
• Increase in levels of farm income due to improved and sustained productivity

C) Social benefits

• Improvement in rural living standards from sustained employ­ment and higher income
• Improvement in nutrition and health due to increased quality and diversity of food outputs
• Stabilization and improvement of communities through the elimination of the need to shift sites of farm activities.

Sub Mission on Agroforestry (Har Medh Par Ped) Scheme

• Sub-Mission on Agroforestry (Har Medh Par Ped) Scheme was launched in 2016-17 to encourage tree plantation on farmland along with crops/ cropping system to help the farmers get additional income and make their farming systems more climate resilient and adaptive.
• The scheme is being implemented in 20 States viz. Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, M.P., Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, U.P., Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland and 2 UTs viz. J&K and Ladakh with funding pattern of 60:40 between Centre and State Govt. for all States excepting NE & Hilly states, where it is 90:10 and 100% in case of UTs & National Level Agencies.
• Under the scheme, assistance to farmers is given through State Govt. for nursery development, boundary plantation and block plantation of prominent tree species to promote, inter-alia, fruits bearing tree borne oilseeds, medicinal & aromatic plants, silk & lac rearing host plants, in addition to timber species, so that farmers get early returns.
• In the case of the promotion of horticulture and orchards, the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), a Centrally Sponsored Scheme is being implemented w.e.f. 2014-15, for holistic growth of the horticulture sector covering fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, coconut, cashew, cocoa and bamboo. All States and UTs are covered under MIDH.