Successful Agroforestry Models for Different Agro-Ecological Regions in India

Agroforestry is an effective land use system which contributes to food, nutritional and environmental security. Besides its multifarious use as food, fuel, fodder, fibre, and timber, it enables smallholder farmers to optimize their land use. Agroforestry has a significant potential to provide employment and additional income to farmers as well as to increase the forest/tree cover to meet specific national targets. ICRAF defines agroforestry as the practice and science of the interface and interactions between agriculture and forestry, involving farmers, livestock, trees and forests at multiple scales. Agroforestry is one of the most multi-disciplinary sciences which deals with a whole gamut of important aspects of human life. The most comprehensive definition of agroforestry explains it as the interaction of agriculture and trees, including the agricultural use of trees.