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Benefits of Agroforestry

What are the benefits of agroforestry?

Agroforestry is a traditional farming practice that plants trees on farmland, either among, along or bordering crops. Benefits of agroforestry include:

Economic benefits

  • Diversifies products from trees such as fruits, nuts, fodder, and materials for own use

  • Creates additional sources of income, including payment for carbon captured by trees (through Acorn)

Improved farm productivity

  • Reduces the need for artificial fertilizers

  • Increases yield production by increasing biodiversity of pollinators such as bees, butterflies, worms and beetles.

  • Protects farm from wind damage and undesired animals.

Social benefits

  • Increases food security

  • Establishes farm boundaries

  • Creates work and additional income for community

  • Provides shade for farmers and crops during hot, dry days

Improved soil & water quality

  • Provides a cool and humid microclimate, reducing heat stress for plants

  • Keeps soil moist for longer periods.

  • Minimizes erosion and improves soil structure

Risks to consider

  • Too much shade from trees may limit productivity for certain non-shade tolerant crops

  • Shade may reduce effect of fertilizers

  • Too much humidity can increase risks of certain pests.

Supporting material

We have created a poster to help easily explain the benefits of agroforestry to your farming communities. This poster can be printed on A0 or smaller sizes and used for field trainings or to hang in your organization's office.

These posters have been adapted to different regions to ensure relevance and clarity. If your region is missing and you would like to use a region-specific adaptation, please contact your Account Manager.

Downloads
  • Sub-Sahara Africa, English (Digital JPG | Print PDF | Translatable A4 Doc)

  • Latin America, Español (Digital JPG | Print PDF | Translatable A4 Doc)

  • Southeast Asia, Tiếng Việt (Digital JPG | Print PDF | Translatable A4 Doc)

How to edit & export the translation file

Important note: To translate the A4 version, there are text boxes with the original English word to replace. The text boxes have the font size adjusted for English characters - you can adjust the text box sizing or font sizing to fit the characters in your local language. Finally, export the document to PDF before printing.

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