The Indian state of Jharkhand is being urged to encourage agroforestry to revive green cover and generate employment.

Jharkhand currently has around 23,000 square kilometers of forest; about 3 percent of India’s geographic area. The forests were once more extensive but have been depleted due to increasing population and industrialization.

The Times of India reports on a meeting to mark World Environment Day, during which the Forest Research Institute (FRI) called on the state to increase agroforestry in order to help farmers improve productivity and provide them with commercially viable plants for fuel, timber and other purposes. Agroforestry can also assist afforestation to provide a permanent forest cover and increase biodiversity.

"Agroforestry can generate over one lakh employment in the state," said FRI Director Dr P P Bhojvaid, urging industry to become involved in agroforestry as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. He also said agroforestry could further increase the country’s green cover by as much as 8%.

Read the full story: Agroforestry to boost green cover