Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
12.3.6.2 Technologies and Good
Practices
Augmentation of water resources through
extensive rainwater harvesting, artifi cial
recharge of groundwater, etc.
Use of prefabricated water conveyance
systems and adoption of ridge and furrow
method of irrigation, raised bed method of
farming, fi eld bunding, leveling, etc.
Development of storage structures for off-
season use
Wastewater treatment and its utilization
Promotion of watershed development and
management practices
Improvement of irrigation effi ciency by pro-
moting drip and sprinkler irrigation techniques
in place of channel irrigation
Growing of less water-demanding crops and
adopting resource conservation technologies
(RCTs) to economize water use
Adopting mixed cropping and agro-forestry
practices for retaining soil moisture and reduc-
ing dependency on irrigation
shade and reduce wind erosion. According to the
World Agro-forestry Centre, “agro-forestry is
uniquely suited to address both the need for
improved food security and increased resources
for energy, as well as the need to sustainably
manage agricultural landscapes for the critical
ecosystem services they provide.” Agro-forestry
is already widely practiced on all continents.
Using a 10 % tree cover as threshold, agro-
forestry is most important in Central America,
South America, and Southeast Asia but also
occupies a large amount of land area in Africa.
Generally agro-forestry systems can be cate-
gorized into three broad types: agrosilviculture
(trees with crops), agrisilvipasture (trees with
crops and livestocks), and silvopastoral (trees
with pasture and livestock) systems.
Agro-forestry is appropriate for all land types
and is especially important for hillside farming
where agriculture may lead to rapid loss of soil.
The most important trees for incorporating into
an agro-forestry system are legumes because of
their ability to fi x nitrogen and make it available
to other plants. Nitrogen improves the fertility
and quality of the soil and can improve crop
growth. Some of the most common uses of trees
in agro-forestry systems are:
Alley cropping: growing annual crops between
rows of trees
Boundary plantings/living fences: trees
planted along boundaries or property lines to
mark them well
Multi-strata: including home gardens and
agroforests that combine multiple species and
are particularly common in humid tropics
such as in Southeast Asia
Scattered farm trees: increasing number of
trees, shrubs, or shaded perennial crops (such
as coffee and cocoa) scattered among crops or
pastures and along farm boundaries
Any crop plant can be used in an agro-forestry
system. When selecting crops, the following cri-
teria should be prioritized:
Potential for production
Can be used for animal feed
Already produced in the region, preferably
native to the zone
Intermittent fl ooding during rice cultivation
for aeration of the fi elds
12.4
Agro-forestry (Adaptation)
Agro-forestry is an integrated approach to the
production of trees and of non-tree crops or ani-
mals on the same piece of land. The crops can be
grown together at the same time, in rotation, or in
separate plots when materials from one are used
to benefi t another. Agro-forestry systems take
advantage of trees for many uses: to hold the soil,
to increase fertility through nitrogen fi xation or
through bringing minerals from deep in the soil
and depositing them by leaf fall, and to provide
shade, construction materials, foods, and fuel. In
agro-forestry systems, every part of the land is
considered suitable for the cultivation of plants.
Perennial, multiple purpose crops that are planted
once but yield benefi ts over a long period of time
are given priority. The design of agro-forestry
systems prioritizes the benefi cial interactions
between crops, for example, trees can provide
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