Marie Persson of the Food Climate Research Network (FCRN) engaged three experts to come up with a rich, 360-degree perspective of agroforestry as a model for sustainable intensification of agriculture.
The Q&A published on FCRN's ‘Interviews’ site covered, among other topics: the definition of agroforestry; how agroecology relates to agroforestry; what agroforestry means for social, economic and environmental sustainability; agroforestry as an avenue for reducing pressures on forest; practical and ideological constraints to widescale adoption; and priority research questions.
The three experts interviewed—Roger Leakey, Senior Fellow at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and Professor at the James Cook University; André Gonçalves, Professor at Instituto Federal Catarinense in Brazil and Technical Advisor at Centro Ecológico Brazil; and Ben Phalan of the Conservation Science Group at the University of Cambridge—provide insights and recommendations based on experiences analysing and implementing agroforestry and agroecological systems in Brazil, Southeast Asia and many African countries.
“There are many ways in which trees can be integrated into farms and landscapes to provide benefits to farmers, local communities and to the local and global environment, including land rehabilitation, whether in drylands, savannah, montane woodlands or tropical rainforest,” stated Leakey in the interview.
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Read complete article on the FCRN website: Perspectives on agroforestry as a model for sustainable intensification of agriculture
Related links:
Leakey book says ‘trees of life’ could nourish the planet, build wealth
Three steps to bridging the yield gap – Global Food Security blog
Living with the trees of life – Landscape blog
