Driving forces for agroforestry uptake in Mediterranean Europe: application of the analytic network process

The factors that determine the implementation of four alternative agroforestry practices or no agroforestry on a theoretical 200 ha farm in Mediterranean Europe were examined using an analytic network process (ANP) model. The four agroforestry practices considered were implementation of a form of (i) high natural and cultural value agroforestry, (ii) agroforestry with high value trees, and agroforestry for (iii) arable and (iv) livestock systems. The ANP model was developed in a participatory manner through a systematic series of quantitative questionnaires and workshops with agroforestry researchers. In general, all the Mediterranean agroforestry systems were associated with high benefits and opportunities, but also with high costs and high risks. The greatest benefits were attributed to high natural and cultural value agroforestry systems, which greatly contributed to the highest priority of this system. Overall ranking of priorities for the agroforestry management alternatives show robustness in the sensitivity analysis. The “no agroforestry” land use became the preferred option when costs were given a weighting of 0.50 or greater.     

Modelling and valuing the environmental impacts of arable,forestry and agroforestry systems: a case study

The use of land for intensive arable production in Europe is associated with a range of externalities that typically impose costs on third parties. The introduction of trees in arable systems can potentially be used to reduce these costs. This paper assesses the profitability and environmental externalities of a silvoarable agroforestry system, and compares this with the profitability and environmental externalities from an arable system and a forestry system. A silvoarable experimental plot of poplar trees planted in 1992 in Bedfordshire, Eastern England, was used as a case study. The Yield-SAFE model was used to simulate the growth and yields of the silvoarable, arable, and forestry land uses along with the associated environmental externalities, including carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas emissions, nitrogen and phosphorus surplus, and soil erosion losses by water. The Farm-SAFE model was then used to quantify the monetary value of these effects. The study assesses both the financial profitability from a farmer perspective and the economic benefit from a societal perspective. The arable option was the most financially profitable system followed by the silvoarable system and forestry. However, when the environmental externalities were included, silvoarable agroforestry provided the greatest benefit. This suggests that the appropriate integration of trees in arable land can provide greater well-being benefits to society overall, than arable farming without trees, or forestry systems on their own.     

Agroforestry for high value tree systems in Europe

Most farm-based agroforestry projects focus on the integration of trees on arable or livestock enterprises. This paper focuses on the integration of understorey crops and/or livestock within high value tree systems (e.g., apple orchards, olive groves, chestnut woodlands, and walnut plantations), and describes the components, structure, ecosystem services and economic value of ten case studies of this type of agroforestry across Europe. Although their ecological and socio-economic contexts vary, the systems share some common characteristics. The primary objective of the farmer is likely to remain the value of tree products like apples, olives, oranges, or nuts, or particularly high value timber. However there can still be production, environmental or economic benefits of integrating agricultural crops such as chickpeas and barley, or grazing an understorey grass crop with livestock. Three of the systems focused on the grazing of apple orchards with sheep in the UK and France. The introduction of sheep to apple orchards can minimise the need for mowing and provide an additional source of revenue. Throughout the Mediterranean, there is a need to improve the financial viability of olive groves. The case studies illustrate the possibility of intercropping traditional olive stands with chickpea in Greece, or the intercropping of wild asparagus in high density olive groves in Italy. Another system studied in Greece involves orange trees intercropped with chickpeas. Stands of chestnut trees in North-west Spain can provide feed for pigs when the fruit falls in November, and provide an excellent habitat for the commercial production of edible mushrooms. In Spain, in the production of high quality walnut trees using rotations of up to 50–60 years, there are options to establish a legume-based mixed pasture understorey and to introduce sheep to provide financial and environmental benefits.     

Global and European policies to foster agricultural sustainability: agroforestry

Agroforestry is a sustainable land management system recognized worldwide but not implemented in a extensive form in temperate and developed countries. Agroforestry has been promoted in the last decades at global level as it provides more efficient and sustainable farming systems. This review aims at summarizing the main research findings explaining why agroforestry is a sustainable land management that fulfils and is affected by different Global, Pan-European and European policies as well as how innovation is currently fostered in Europe, therefore linking research, policy and innovation. This review specially targets researchers and policy makers working in integrated land systems. There is a global and European recognition of the role that agroforestry can play to provide products but also to deliver highly important ecosystem services. However, the promotion of agroforestry practices at European level is still not well addressed by the Common Agricultural Policy. The clear identification of agroforestry practices, the link of management plans to establish agroforestry pursuing a final eligible tree density for the Pillar I payments should be addressed as initial steps to foster agroforestry in Europe. There is a lack of knowledge transfer that promotes agroforestry at field level, which should be approached by using stakeholder integration within the policy development as it is currently done by the EIP-Agri.

     

Farmers’ reasoning behind the uptake of agroforestry practices: evidence from multiple case-studies across Europe

Potential benefits and costs of agroforestry practices have been analysed by experts, but few studies have captured farmers’ perspectives on why agroforestry might be adopted on a European scale. This study provides answers to this question, through an analysis of 183 farmer interviews in 14 case study systems in eight European countries. The study systems included high natural and cultural value agroforestry systems, silvoarable systems, high value tree systems, and silvopasture systems, as well as systems where no agroforestry practices were occurring. A mixed method approach combining quantitative and qualitative approaches was taken throughout the interviews. Narrative thematic data analysis was performed. Data collection proceeded until no new themes emerged. Within a given case study, i.e. the different systems in different European regions, this sampling was performed both for farmers who practice agroforestry and farmers who did not. Results point to a great diversity of agroforestry practices, although many of the farmers are not aware of the term or concept of agroforestry, despite implementing the practice in their own farms. While only a few farmers mentioned eligibility for direct payments in the CAP as the main reason to remove trees from their land, to avoid the reduction of the funded area, the tradition in the family or the region, learning from others, and increasing the diversification of products play the most important role in adopting or not agroforestry systems.     

Agroforestry systems of high nature and cultural value in Europe: provision of commercial goods and other ecosystem services

Land use systems that integrate woody vegetation with livestock and/or crops and are recognised for their biodiversity and cultural importance can be termed high nature and cultural value (HNCV) agroforestry. In this review, based on the literature and stakeholder knowledge, we describe the structure, components and management practices of ten contrasting HNCV agroforestry systems distributed across five European bioclimatic regions. We also compile and categorize the ecosystem services provided by these agroforestry systems, following the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services. HNCV agroforestry in Europe generally enhances biodiversity and regulating ecosystem services relative to conventional agriculture and forestry. These systems can reduce fire risk, compared to conventional forestry, and can increase carbon sequestration, moderate the microclimate, and reduce soil erosion and nutrient leaching compared to conventional agriculture. However, some of the evidence is location specific and a better geographical coverage is needed to generalize patterns at broader scales. Although some traditional practices and products have been abandoned, many of the studied systems continue to provide multiple woody and non-woody plant products and high-quality food from livestock and game. Some of the cultural value of these systems can also be captured through tourism and local events. However there remains a continual challenge for farmers, landowners and society to fully translate the positive social and environmental impacts of HNCV agroforestry into market prices for the products and services.     

Farm-SAFE: the process of developing a plot- and farm-scale model of arable,forestry, and silvoarable economics

Financial feasibility and financial return are two key issues that farmers and land owners consider when deciding between alternative land uses such as arable farming, forestry and agroforestry. Moreover regional variations in yields, prices and government grants mean that the relative revenue and cost of such systems can vary substantially within Europe. To aid our understanding of these variations, the European Commission sponsored a research project called “Silvoarable Agroforestry For Europe” (SAFE). This paper describes the process of developing a new economic model within that project. The initial stages included establishing criteria for the model with end-users and reviewing the literature and existing models. This indicated that the economic model needed to allow comparison of arable farming, forestry and agroforestry systems at a plot- and a farm-scale. The form of comparisons included net margins, net present values, infinite net present values, equivalent annual values, and labour requirements. It was decided that the model would operate in a spreadsheet format, and the effect of phased planting patterns would be included at a farm-scale. Following initial development, additional user feedback led to a final choice on a model name, a final method of collating input data, and the inclusion of field-based operations such as varying the cropped area, replacing dead trees, and pruning. In addition options in terms of improved graphical outputs and the ability to undertake sensitivity analysis were developed. Some of the key lessons learnt include the need to establish clear model criteria and the benefits of developing a working prototype at an early stage to gain user-feedback.     

Smallholder perceptions of agroforestry projects in Panama

The potential effects of agroforestry systems on conservation and development have been well documented. Panama has seen a substantial rise in the number of projects with an agroforestry component in the 1990s. There has been insufficient research on the actual impacts of these projects on smallholders and of farmers' attitudes towards these systems. This study explores the perceived socioeconomic and environmental impacts of five agroforestry projects in Panama. A total of 68 smallholders were administered semi-structured interviews. In addition, 13 agroforestry experts from NGOs, government departments and research institutes were interviewed, and their responses were compared with those of the smallholders. While the projects led to an increase in the standard of living by providing wood products and fruit for domestic consumption, farm income levels generally remained unchanged. This was due primarily to limited market development, the lack of marketing organizations and poor access roads. In terms of environmental impacts, the farmers' responses suggested a slight decline in slash-and-burn agriculture, and an increase in tree planting activities. Some environmental benefits were observed by farmers, including reduced soil erosion, increased soil fertility, and improved quality and quantity of water sources. Nevertheless, slash-and-burn agriculture was still the norm for the majority of farmers. Most farmers continued to harvest wood from primary and secondary growth to meet their domestic wood requirements, rather than relying on trees planted in agroforestry projects. The main obstacles preventing increased agroforestry adoption included insufficient agroforestry extension, inappropriate project design or management (such as top-down management approaches, and the use of food incentives), smallholders' economic constraints, and larger policy issues. Recommendations are proposed to improve project design and management, and to address the economic and policy constraints. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Socio-economic factors affecting the income of small-scale agroforestry farms in hill country areas in Yemen: A comparison of OLS and WLS determinants

Yemen is a less-developed country in the Arabian Peninsula, with only 3% arable land. An agroforestry land-use system has been practiced traditionally by small-scale farmers, but is associated with low productivity and income. A study has been undertaken to determine the socio-economic attributes of farmers that influence the financial performance of agroforestry and non-agroforestry farms in the Bura’a Mountain region. A survey was conducted of 150 farmers involved in both agroforestry and non-agroforestry. Both OLS and WLS regression were applied, and coefficients compared in terms of consistency and goodness of fit. Incomes of farmers were found to be influenced by education, area of land, livestock holding, family size, and whether coffee is grown, but not farmer’s age. The WLS method produced efficient and consistent results, whereas OLS regression was affected by the heteroscedasticity. The findings of the study indicate that the farmers of the study area are in need of financial and technical support from government to increase their income. Infrastructural development and public intervention in developing farmers’ technical know-how could enhance production and ensure the optimum use of land as well as soil and water conservation.     

How local stakeholders perceive agroforestry systems: an Italian perspective

This paper reports the results of a study conducted in Italy, within the AGFORWARD (2014–2017) project, aimed at promoting innovative agroforestry practices in Europe. Agroforestry offers a means for maintaining food production whilst addressing some of the negative environmental effects of intensive agriculture. This study aims to elicit the positive and negative points of view and perceptions of local stakeholders in Italy in relation to three types of agroforestry systems. The Participatory Research and Network Development was implemented in three workshops conducted in Sardinia, Umbria, and Veneto regions, and applied adopting a common methodological protocol. Qualitative data were obtained using open discussions with stakeholders on key issues, challenges and innovations. Quantitative data were obtained from stakeholders completing questionnaires during the workshops. A statistical analysis was applied to elicit the differences in stakeholders’ positive and negative perceptions in relation to production, management, environment and socio-economy aspects. Although the participants in the study came from different geographical and socioeconomic contexts with varied educational and cultural backgrounds, the different professional groups (farmers, policy-makers and researchers) and the three workshops generally shared similar perceptions of the benefits and constraints. The effects of agroforestry on production and the environment were generally perceived as positive, whilst those related to management were generally negative. The process of bringing the groups together seemed to be an effective means for identifying the key research gaps that need to be addressed in order to promote the uptake and maintenance of agroforestry.     

Evolution of agroforestry based farming systems: a study of Dhanusha District, Nepal

This paper examines how agroforestry-based farming systems evolved in the Dhanusha district of Nepal following the conversion of forest into agriculture during the early 1950s. Some data are from two focus group discussions with agroforestry farmers and one meeting with agroforestry experts. The farmers?? discussion traced the development of farming practices from 1950 to 2010 to identify the drivers of land use change. The experts?? discussion resulted in a scale to differentiate the prevailing farming systems in the study area considering five key components of agroforestry: agricultural crops, livestock, forest tree crops, fruit tree crops and vegetable crops. Data related to the system components were collected from the randomly selected households. The study reveals that land use had generally changed from very simple agriculture to agroforestry, triggered by infrastructure development, technological innovations, institutional support (subsidies and buy-back guarantees) and extension programs. A range of farming systems with varying degrees of integration was evident in the study area: simple agriculture; less integrated agroforestry; semi-integrated agroforestry and highly integrated agroforestry. The three types of agroforestry systems, which are the focus of this study, varied significantly in terms of farm size, cropping intensity, use of farm inputs, tree species diversity, tree density, home to forest distance and agricultural labour force.     

A Case Study Assessment of Agroforestry

Summary

Finding sustainable land-use systems within the Panama Canal Watershed will be necessary for future management by the Panamanian government. Agroforestry is a land-use option for small-scale farmers living within the Watershed that can help achieve the goals of both conservation and productivity. This case study qualitatively evaluates current agroforestry projects in the Canal Watershed using an analytical framework based on other evaluations of agroforestry systems in Central America. Designated criteria for the analysis include: management objectives, project life span, incentives, technology, economic feasibility, community involvement, and extension. These factors can present obstacles to wide-scale adoption of agroforestry systems by small-scale farmers, thus preventing the realization of associated benefits of agroforestry. The analysis of the three field sites visited in March 1998 is followed by recommendations for expanding agroforestry practices among farmers in the Watershed.     

Prospects for easing land tenure conflicts with agroforestry in Mediterranean France: a research approach for intercropped timber orchards

Agroforesty plots offer the opportunity to combine annual agricultural production and long-term wood capitalization. The fallow scheme now in operation in Europe intends to reduce the surplus of agricultural products. Agroforestry management could be a valuable alternative to fallow or to forestry plantations on agricultural land.Agroforestry is attractive to agricultural landowners in Mediterranean France, as agroforestry stands are less costly than forestry plantations, are less prone to fire hazards, provide agricultural returns from intercropping during the first twenty years and have many environmental benefits.An experimental network of on-farm agroforestry plots has been set up since 1988 in the Mediterranean part of France. These plots include grazed paddocks (silvopastoral systems) and ungrazed fields (silvoarable systems). They gained support both from landowners and tenants: the former expect a high value treestock, while the latter have a free use of the space between plantation lines. Plantations have been designed to allow easy mechanical intercropping. First results from two experimental sites are discussed. The growth of the trees in the agroforestry plots is much higher than in the control forestry plots.     

Agroforestry and the environment

Agroforestry is a traditional land use system that may contribute to the solution of environmental problems in agriculture. Agroforestry is the practice of deliberately integrating woody vegetation (trees or shrubs) with crops and/or animal systems to benefit from the resulting ecological and economic interactions. Recent research indicates that a wider adoption of agroforestry principles and practices is a key means by which the global agri-food sector might achieve more sustainable methods of food and fiber production by producing both economic benefits for farmers and environmental benefits for society. Agroforestry provides numerous provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting ecosystem services and environmental benefits while promoting eco-intensification based on a more efficient use of the resources. Nevertheless, there is only little published recent information on the contribution of agroforestry to the environment in general and on climate change, carbon sequestration and forest fires in particular. In this special issue a number of articles are included that provide a kaleidoscope of the environmental benefits that agroforestry provides to the environment.

     

How is agroforestry perceived in Europe? An assessment of positive and negative aspects by stakeholders

Whilst the benefits of agroforestry are widely recognised in tropical latitudes few studies have assessed how agroforestry is perceived in temperate latitudes. This study evaluates how stakeholders and key actors including farmers, landowners, agricultural advisors, researchers and environmentalists perceive the implementation and expansion of agroforestry in Europe. Meetings were held with 30 stakeholder groups covering different agroforestry systems in 2014 in eleven EU countries (Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom). In total 344 valid responses were received to a questionnaire where stakeholders were asked to rank the positive and negative aspects of implementing agroforestry in their region. Improved biodiversity and wildlife habitats, animal health and welfare, and landscape aesthetics were seen as the main positive aspects of agroforestry. By contrast, increased labour, complexity of work, management costs and administrative burden were seen as the most important negative aspects. Overall, improving the environmental value of agriculture was seen as the main benefit of agroforestry, whilst management and socio-economic issues were seen as the greatest barriers. The great variability in the opportunities and barriers of the systems suggests enhanced adoption of agroforestry across Europe will be most likely to occur with specific initiatives for each type of system.     

Farmer’s Perception of and Factors Influencing Agroforestry Practices in the Indus River Basin,Pakistan

Agroforestry practices of farming communities are investigated in southern Punjab province, Pakistan. It is hypothesized that rural people of this areas are more inclined than elsewhere in the province to practice agroforestry due to greater profitability than cropping. A landholder survey revealed that the majority of farmers are inclined to plant trees on their land. Low accessibility of institutional credit is a constraint for both agroforestry farmers (AF) and non-agroforestry farmers. However, among AF respondents only 24% were found to need credit for agroforestry practice, as against nearly 76% for crop production. Mostly farmers were found to have positive perceptions regarding agroforestry practice, because they understand the multiple benefits from growing trees, compared with cropping where farmers face various constraints, including poor access to credit, natural hazards, and little support from local authorities. Further, effort to sensitize farmers that growing trees has multiple benefits compared to only cultivation of field crops can bring about change in farmer’s perceptions and attitudes in the Indus River basin, resulting in motivation for agroforestry adoption.     

Negotiating a political path to agroforestry through the Conservation Security Program

Temperate agroforestry systems have faced obstacles to adoption despite their multiple environmental, economic, and social benefits. In part, these obstacles derive from the typically small scale of agroforestry systems relative to large-scale mainstream grain agriculture, which in the US is supported by strong commodity subsidies. One promising option for promoting agroforestry on a policy level, and thus for making it more appealing to landowners, is the Conservation Security Program (CSP), which provides payments to farmers for sustainable conservation practices on working lands. CSP was first passed in 2002 and has many supporters; however it has also faced opposition, delays in implementation and funding caps. CSP proponents have thus promoted its expansion in current and future Farm Bills. Since CSP is one part of the Farm Bill clearly suited to promoting agroforestry practices, supporters of agroforestry should consider joining coalitions around CSP to ensure that it includes explicit provisions for advancing agroforestry. In addition, CSP and agroforestry proponents alike should develop a strategic plan to market the expansion of CSP to policy makers. Specifically, a broad and strong coalition based on ideological common ground (e.g., attention to the notion of a family farmer) and on situational factors (e.g., potential international pressure from the World Trade Organization to reduce commodity subsidies) might be sufficient to push CSP into an expanded role in current and future Farm Bills.

Integrating belowground carbon dynamics into Yield-SAFE,a parameter sparse agroforestry model

Agroforestry combines perennial woody elements (e.g. trees) with an agricultural understory (e.g. wheat, pasture) which can also potentially be used by a livestock component. In recent decades, modern agroforestry systems have been proposed at European level as land use alternatives for conventional agricultural systems. The potential range of benefits that modern agroforestry systems can provide includes farm product diversification (food and timber), soil and biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration, both in woody biomass and the soil. Whilst typically these include benefits such as food and timber provision, potentially, there are benefits in the form of carbon sequestration, both in woody biomass and in the soil. Quantifying the effect of agroforestry systems on soil carbon is important because it is one means by which atmospheric carbon can be sequestered in order to reduce global warming. However, experimental systems that can combine the different alternative features of agroforestry systems are difficult to implement and long-term. For this reason, models are needed to explore these alternatives, in order to determine what benefits different combinations of trees and understory might provide in agroforestry systems. This paper describes the integration of the widely used soil carbon model RothC, a model simulating soil organic carbon turnover, into Yield-SAFE, a parameter sparse model to estimate aboveground biomass in agroforestry systems. The improvement of the Yield-SAFE model focused on the estimation of input plant material into soil (i.e. leaf fall and root mortality) while maintaining the original aspiration for a simple conceptualization of agroforestry modeling, but allowing to feed inputs to a soil carbon module based on RothC. Validation simulations show that the combined model gives predictions consistent with observed data for both SOC dynamics and tree leaf fall. Two case study systems are examined: a cork oak system in South Portugal and a poplar system in the UK, in current and future climate.     

Agroforestry for ecosystem services and environmental benefits: an overview

Agroforestry systems are believed to provide a number of ecosystem services; however, until recently evidence in the agroforestry literature supporting these perceived benefits has been lacking. This special issue brings together a series of papers from around the globe to address recent findings on the ecosystem services and environmental benefits provided by agroforestry. As prelude to the special issue, this paper examines four major ecosystem services and environmental benefits of agroforestry: (1) carbon sequestration, (2) biodiversity conservation, (3) soil enrichment and (4) air and water quality. Past and present evidence clearly indicates that agroforestry, as part of a multifunctional working landscape, can be a viable land-use option that, in addition to alleviating poverty, offers a number of ecosystem services and environmental benefits. This realization should help promote agroforestry and its role as an integral part of a multifunctional working landscape the world over.