Definition and basic concepts of agroforestry
The word agroforestry is derived from the combination of two words that is agro, meaning “agriculture crops,” and forestry, meaning “forest trees”, and therefore, agroforestry is a method of farming that allows trees and shrubs to grow along with agriculture crops and/or livestock, that means blending agriculture and forestry in the same production system.
Agroforestry is a branch of forestry science, which has been practiced in Nepal for meeting the human needs of forestry, agriculture and livestock. This practice differs in socio-economic condition of the farmers and ecological zone of the country. Based on ecological zones, Nepal can be divided into three parts: the high Himalayas in the north covering 24% of the total area; the lower hills, siwalik and mountain slopes in the centre consisted 56%; and Terai and inner Terai in the south at an elevation below 300 m from the sea level covered 20% of the total lands.
Agroforestry is a system which is not only ecologically rational but also economically sound. In recent years, agroforestry is developed as a science for improving the productivity, profitability and sustainability of production of available lands, and soil conservation.
At the end of 19th century, agroforestry has also been practiced as a tool for establishing forest plantation. This system is called Taungya agroforestry system, which was first started from Burma in 1850s, where teak (Tectona grandis) plantation areas were given to shifting cultivators to grow agriculture crops. This practice was first started in Nepal in 1972 in Tamagadhi of Bara district, where forest areas encroached by the hill migrants were planted and given to encroachers to grow agriculture. The main aim of this practice was to protect remaining forests from encroachment.
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Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), Department of Forest Research and Survey (DFRS), Nepal Agroforestry Foundation (NAF)/ Kathmandu Forestry College (KAFCOL), Institute of Forestry (IOF) and other I/NGOs have been involved in promoting agroforestry research and extension work in Nepal.
There are several definitions of agroforestry given by various scientists and institutions that are as follows:
- ICRAF (1982) defined agroforestry system as a land use system that integrates trees with agriculture crops, and or animals simultaneously or sequentially to get higher productivity, more economic returns and better social and ecological benefits on a sustainable yield basis than are obtainable from mono-culture on the same unit of land, especially under conditions of low levels of technological inputs on marginal sites.
- A collective name for land use systems and technologies where woody perennials (trees, shrubs, palm, bamboo etc) are deliberately used in the same land management unit as agriculture crops and or animals either in same form of spatial arrangement or temporal sequence (Lundgren and Raintree, 1983).
- In simple word, agroforestry is a science that combines trees and agriculture crops (food, fruit, vegetables, fodder and forage etc) together in the same land at the same time.
- Agroforestry is form of land use that successfully satisfies the needs of the crop farmers, foresters and or stock farmers.