20th January
Agroforestry is one of the solutions for restoring the balance needed for sustainable land use across the globe. Agroforestry is “Integrating trees with agriculture to encourage positive interactions in order to improve farm resilience, lead to an overall increase in productivity, biodiversity and other mutual benefits…
“In its simplest form, agroforestry can be described as ‘growing trees on farms’ and includes the integration, both ecologically and economically, of the woody elements that may already be present in agricultural landscapes, such as hedgerows, windbreaks, buffer zones, trees in pasture, and small woodlands. At a greater level of complexity are agroforestry systems that are fully integrated structured systems where standard trees, orchard trees and/or coppice systems are grown in rows between crops or pasture in an alley-cropping design.” (1)
This can include grazing livestock in between rows of trees which might, for example be nut or fruit trees. Or it might be planting crops between rows of trees – eg wheat/ barley/ peas/ linseed or even perennial crops such as globe artichokes. Here you can read about a case sturdy: James Bucher Hall Farm, Knettishall, Diss, Suffolk (https://agricology.co.uk/farmer-profiles/james-bucher/)
Agroforestry is also be used beneficially in other parts of the world, such as in Brazil. Systems reflect both indigenous expertises as well as new techniques. Agroforestry in Brazil enables farms to,produce a variety of crops such as cassava, açaí, andiroba, oranges and bananas, which both protects the rainforest ecosystem and provides a good income and ongoing soil security. (2) (3)
- https://www.organicresearchcentre.com/research/agroforestry/
- https://blog.nature.org/2024/08/30/family-farmers-use-agroforestry-to-fight-climate-change/
- Agroforestry in Brazil https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-priorities/tackle-climate-change/climate-change-stories/reforestation-natural-climate-solutions/
The Green Tau 