Guidelines to Produce Quality Planting Material of Agroforestry Species

Agroforestry—an effective, traditional land management system of integrating trees and shrubs into various crops and crop-livestock production systems—has been practiced in India for centuries. Covered under the umbrella of agriculture before, it was only recently that agroforestry emerged as a distinct branch of science. The past three decades have witnessed a tremendous boost to agroforestry across the world, and India is among those pioneer countries which are taking major actions to step up the research, education, and policy level support to agroforestry. Organized research on agroforestry started in India with the establishment of the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Agroforestry in 1983. The research initiatives gained further momentum with the commencement of forestry education programmes in the State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) of India during 1985-86, and establishment of the National Research Centre for Agroforestry (NRCAF) at Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh in 1988. The Centre was upgraded in 2014 as Central Agroforestry Research Institute (CAFRI). At present there are 37 centres of AICRP on agroforestry representing all agro-climate types of the country. In addition, the Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education (ICFRE) conducts agroforestry research through its institutes and advanced research centres.