Socio-economic basis

1. Home gardens

Home gardens are established near home for their food, vegetables, fruit and fodder production, for aesthetic and ornamental values and for religious purposes. It is multistory types in which fodder or timber trees, fruit trees, and vegetables are grown together. This system is common in both hills and Terai belt of Nepal.

Poor farmers in home garden like to grow more food crops and vegetables, while rich farmers plant and grow more ornamental trees and fruit trees.

Tallest trees (Sissoo, Eucalyptus in Terai and Inner Terai, coconut and nut trees also included in Jhapa district and fodder trees in hills) of this system are strong light demander and middle storey trees are moderately shade tolerant fruit trees. At the ground level vegetables and other herbaceous shade tolerant crops like ginger, turmeric, chilly, pine apple, coffee, cardamom etc) are grown under tree shade.

Home garden with fodder (Ficus spp) and fuel wood (Bakaino etc) species is common in those areas where natural forests has been destroyed or exhausted long time ago. The main advantages of home gardens are as follows:

• Produce diversify products such as vegetables/ food/fruit, spices, fodder and timber.
• Nutritive value of farmer’s diet is increased.
• Farmer can generate income from the sale of surplus vegetables.
• Labour has been highly efficient due to proximity of farmer’s residence.
• Agroforestry products can be obtained through out the year.
• Favorable environment can be created for the farmers through provision of shade, wind breaks and privacy.

Disadvantages:

• Habitat for insects, pests (snakes and rodents) and diseases.
• Primitive form of subsistence land use.