Benefit-cost analysis of selected agroforestry systems in Northeastern Thailand

Potential productivity and financial returns from selected agroforestry systems and traditional monocrops located in the Phu Wiang watershed were estimated from limited trials of cropping alternatives using cost-benefit analysis. The agroforestry systems studied consisted of combinations of Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala), or Acacia (Acacia auriculiformis) inter-cropped with cassava (Manihot esculenta) or mungbean (Vigna radiata). Evidence from trials at short, 3-year rotations, demonstrate that early supplementary and complementary relationships between some system components can imply synergistic financial gains. Although these biological interactions turn competitive over time, in this case, the gains should be sufficient to make early adopters consider the agroforestry systems financially preferable to traditional monocrops.