Agroforestry

Summary
"A sustainable management system for land that increases total production, combines agricultural crops, tree crops and forest plants and/ or animals simultaneously or sequentially and applies management practices that are compatible with cultural patterns of the local population" - definition Bene et al. (1977) - taken from Kulbhushan Balooni's report on commercial agroforestry investment schemes in India

''According to the World Agroforestry Centre, Agroforestry is a collective name for land use systems and practices in which woody perennials are deliberately integrated with crops and/or animals on the same land management unit. The integration can be either in a spatial mixture or in a temporal sequence. There are normally both ecological and economic interactions between woody and non-woody components in agroforestry.''

''In agroforestry systems, trees or shrubs are intentionally used within agricultural systems, or non-timber forest products are cultured in forest settings. Knowledge, careful selection of species and good management of trees and crops are needed to optimize the production and positive effects within the system and to minimize negative competitive effects.''

''In some areas, a narrow definition of agroforestry might simply be: trees on farms. Hence, agroforestry, farm forestry and family forestry can be broadly understood as the commitment of farmers, alone or in partnerships, towards the establishment and management of forests on their land. Where many landholders are involved the result is a diversity of activity that reflects the diversity of aspirations and interests within the community.'' - From Wikipedia