At ECHO NAIC in Fort Myers, we have several agroforestry demonstrations for training interns, the public, and workers abroad. My question is especially for those that work outside of North America and I would also love feedback from staff at the other ECHO RICs.
- Are there agroforestry systems that are not included on the following list that are especially effective in your context? (please list your location/climate and stories/results)
- Of the ones listed, which have been especially successful in your context?
Here is a list of our current demonstrations:
-Food Forest
-Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT, Contour Lines, Modified Alley Cropping)
-FMNR (Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration)
-Syntropic Agroforestry
-Traditional Alley Cropping
-Urban Gardening (Potted fruit trees)
-Silvopasture Arboretum
-General perennial integration in a farming system
I really value your feedback. It allows us to keep our demonstrations up to date and verify their use/effectiveness for those we are training here.
2 Likes
Hi from ECHO Asia in Thailand,
Agroforestry can mean different things to different people. I’ll define agroforestry here as a system where ‘woody perennials are deliberately integrated with crops and/or animals on the same land’.
Taking this definition, three of the more common examples of agroforestry in Thailand would include:
-
Home gardens are probably the most common example. Very often these include a ‘messy fringe’ of trees and perennial vegetables. For example, fruit trees like mangos, coconut, banana and jackfruit may be mixed with timber and ornamental trees around the edge the edge a garden.
-
Cash crops under shade trees. Coffee under a canopy of other trees is perhaps the most common example in Thailand. This might include underplanting coffee into existing forests, or establishing coffee with multi-purpose trees. Other crops that are grown under shade include black pepper, and cocoa.
-
Shifting cultivation. This is often referred to negatively as ‘slash and burn’, and involves clearing areas of forest for temporary cultivation. However some traditional shifting cultivation practices maintain biodiversity and forest cover over time. When the rotational period gets too short or the areas cleared too large, then there are problems with soil degradation and biodiversity loss. In some traditional shifting cultivation systems, forest is cleared for a single seasonal crop. In the following years, the area is managed as the forest re-establishes to give a wide range of food products.
2 Likes
Syntropic agroforestry has been successful in the context of Haiti where resources are severely limited. It is highly adaptable and can achieve the same objectives of almost every other system mentioned.
1 Like
Hi Shaun! I really appreciate this input! The home gardens sound very similar to what Rick Burnette (Former ECHO Asia Team) describes seeing in many immigrant home gardens here in the US. He said they tend to have a variety of trees around the home to provide an easy access to a perennial food source, which takes little maintenance. Thank you for sharing what works well in Thailand! It is really helpful for contextualizing our trainings.
1 Like
Thank you Roger for sharing about syntropic agroforestry. It is incredible to me how well this system builds soil with little to no outside inputs. The demonstration that you helped us build is doing really well here in Florida.
1 Like
I look forward to seeing how it’s developed when I return in April!