Agroforestry - an opportunity overlooked?

Abstract

Agroforestry is defined, and shown to be a very profitable option for hill country farmers. It is suggested that agroforestry should be part of a normal farm portfolio of investments. A 30 to 50-hectare woodlot can be worth a million dollars to the grower, and thus be worth more than the rest of the farm combined. Research on agroforestry by combined forestry and agricultural scientists has been extensive, and many potential useful discoveries have been made. Worthwhile pasture production can be achieved for half of the tree rotation and good livestock performance is possible under low tree populations. Nevertheless, this technology has not been taken up by farmers, possibly because profit from trees is not considered to be an important use of trees, as two surveys indicate. Keywords agroforestry, profitability, opportunity, potential, hill country