Agroforestry Explained: Principles, Benefits, and Case Studies

Sustainable agroforestry emphasizes managing crops in a way that supports the natural plant, animal and insect biodiversity of an area. By working with native biodiversity, farmers are able to leverage natural management solutions like pollinators and pest predators to enrich and protect their crops. One of our partners, based in Guatemala, took advantage of this natural relationship by planting saplings on farms near coffee and cacao plants, which will help keep the soil and trees fertilized and free from pests.

The presence of trees in or near livestock grazing areas benefits the animals by shading them from the sun, reducing temperatures in the surrounding microclimate, shielding them from wind and rain events, and more. Trees also help reduce the animals’ stress by making them feel more at ease in their environment. While livestock was often considered a part of historic forest farming practices, animals are becoming less common in the agroforestry field. But when managed with sustainability in mind, they can play an important role in a mutually beneficial integrated agroforestry system. 

In a healthy watershed, riparian zones are an essential piece of the puzzle: in addition to providing unique habitat for specialized species, riparian areas absorb and filter sediment and debris that would otherwise make their way into waterways. When they are lost, water quality and quantity is reduced, habitat is degraded, native specialist species can be lost, and soil stability is reduced. When trees and shrubs are planted along rivers and streams to form a riparian forest buffer, they can help stabilize riverbanks and prevent soil erosion, filter farm runoff and improve water quality, shade and slow flowing water, ajdnfoster a better moisture balance in the area.

Forest farming is a strategy that allows farmers to enjoy the benefits of wild foods in a managed way that is respectful of the ecosystem. This method involves cultivating specialty crops including fruits, nuts, mushrooms, ginseng and other medicinal herbs, woody florals, maple syrup and more under the protection of a forest canopy. To provide optimal growing conditions, forest farmers will carefully modify the existing canopy to provide optimal shade levels while retaining biodiversity and ecosystem benefits. The forest serves as a complex natural environment for edible, floral, or medicinal crops to grow and thrive, while subsistence-related degradation is prevented and trees can mature.

Agroforestry practices often focus on balancing the preservation of natural forests with fostering productive agriculture systems. At a time when industrial agriculture is a top cause of global deforestation, sustainable agroforestry offers a powerful one-two punch of feeding communities and protecting the environment from further degradation. More than that, agroforestry has the potential to regenerate soil and ground water supplies, prevent droughts, provide financial value for farmers over the long term, and so much more. When integrated in a thoughtful way, it can change lives for the better by enabling communities to live more harmoniously within the environments they call home, improving access to critical resources for all. 

With less than 5% of India’s land area designated as protected wildlife habitat, and millions of people living in or around those areas, incidents of human-wildlife conflict are on the rise. Facing sparse, fragmented habitats and dwindling resources, Asian Elephants resort to crop raiding. For smallholder farmers who live on annual incomes of less than $1,000/year, this can be a devastating blow.  

The program identified farmers that have reported significant crop damage and worked with them to make their farms less attractive to elephants. To achieve this, they were encouraged to transition 10-20% of their land to fruit trees, medicinal trees, and timber. Each participant received 100 native saplings that will, once mature, improve their food security and create alternative and more stable income streams. The trees will also create wildlife buffer zones, sequester carbon, and increase forest cover around wildlife parks. By employing smart agroforestry systems, this project helps address a significant challenge for people and wildlife alike, allowing them to coexist in greater peace.  

Rwanda is famously known as the land of a thousand hills — hills that have produced some of the world’s highest-quality coffee for many decades. Rapid population growth and increased market demand have led to unsustainable production practices such as cultivation on river banks and steep slopes — which leads to soil degradation and erosion — and dumping wastewater into waterways.

The primary goal of this project was to provide healthy coffee and shade trees to smallholder coffee farming communities in the Western, Northern, and Eastern Provinces of Rwanda. These new trees will not only lead to an increase in harvest and income, but also empower local coffee farmers to invest in their environment, futures, and the futures of their families. 

In addition to promoting sustainable coffee agroforestry, a 15-month fellowship program provided intensive training in coffee farming best practices. Graduates of the 2022 cohort of the fellowship experienced a 123% increase in annual household income, and a 47% increase in coffee harvests. The combined agroforestry approach, which integrated coffee and shade trees, played a pivotal role in these outcomes. 

Spanning 185 miles just off the coast of Belize, the Belize Barrier Reef supports thousands of marine plant and animal species. Part of the second largest reef system in the world, its structure is formed by hard skeletons of bony coral that require clean water and stable temperatures to grow and thrive. Thus, changes to inland watersheds, such as altered freshwater flows or increased nutrient inputs, directly impact the health and productivity of the reef. Unfortunately, forested watersheds in neighboring Guatemala have been severely degraded by decades of extractive agricultural practices — primarily slash and burn farming and chemical-dependent corn monocultures. 

By facilitating a widespread transition to regenerative, organic agroforestry systems, this project is working to secure a healthier future. Fruit trees are provided to farmers who agree to transition to more sustainable practices, including the alley cropping method (plant legume trees, build erosion control barriers, mulch crops, and don’t use chemicals). This helps prevent chemical runoff from polluting riparian zones and fragile ecosystems downstream. While soil conservation was a primary goal, working with communities on their land was integral to achieving it. Not only does this collaborative approach help restore watersheds feeding into a critical reef ecosystem; it ensures economic benefits will flow directly to the people who live and work the land.