Page 150 - Area 9 - Relevant Document

2

Lesson 1
Agroforestry Definitions, Objectives, Potentials of and distinction between
Agroforestry and Social Forestry

Intended Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the lesson, the learners should be able to:
(a) Define and understand the concepts and meaning of agroforestry from
various authors, and
(b) describe the importance, objectives & potentials of agroforestry.

Concepts of Agroforestry

Agroforestry is an art and science of growing woody and non-woody plants
together on the same unit of land for range benefits.

Agroforestry is the use of land for a combination of technologies in
agriculture and forestry. In other words, it is the practice of growing tree crops
along with agricultural crops. Agroforestry is one of the important sustainable
land management techniques, involving a combination of agriculture,
horticulture, forestry, and livestock practices. Because of this, it is closely
related to community and homestead forestry.

For further understanding, Lesson 3, illustrated the different agroforestry
system in which one could see how agroforestry is illustrated as it combines
tree and agricultural crops.

Definitions of Agroforestry

Many definitions have been proposed world-wide. However, it has now
become an accepted land use system. Various definitions were provided
by different authors like as follows:

(1) Agroforestry is a sustainable management system for land that increases
overall production, combines agriculture crops, forest plants and tree
crop simultaneously or sequentially with animal and
applies management practices that are compatible with the cultural
patterns of a local population, (Bene et al.1977).

(2) Agroforestry is a sustainable land management system which increases
the overall production of the land, combines the production of
agricultural crops and tree crops on the same unit of land and