Dean Current

Costs, benefits, and farmer adoption of agroforestry : project experience in Central America and the Caribbean

Developing countries are facing major challenges to their rural land use, including deforestation, increasing scarcity of tree products, and environmental degradation on fragile agricultural lands. One of the ways they have responded to these problems is by promoting agroforestry, or on-farm tree establishment and management. Public agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and international donors have supported agroforestry development efforts and are considering further substantial investments. But agroforestry activities have been poorly documented and project monitoring has been weak or nonexistent or has addressed administrative concerns only. To answer the need for hard data, an analysis of the costs, benefits, and farmer adoption of agroforestry was undertaken. This was the first large-scale study of farm-level profitability of agroforestry in the tropics and involved empirical work for twenty-one projects in Central America and the Caribbean.

Branching out: Agroforestry as a climate change mitigation and adaptation tool for agriculture

MEETING MULTIPLE DEMANDS UNDER CLIMATE CHANGE US and Canadian agricultural lands are being pressed to provide more environmental and economic services, while at the same time their capacity to provide these services under potential climate change (CC) is being questioned (Field et al. 2007; CAST 2011). Producers are already experiencing weather patterns outside of climate norms (e.g., the 2011 droughts in Texas, and flooding along the Missouri River in the United States and along the Red River in Canada) that have had significant impacts on production. Predictions of future climate conditions for the US Midwest include longer growing seasons that could potentially increase crop yields but also increase heat waves, floods, droughts, and insect and weed issues that may then adversely impact production (USGCRP 2009). Climate change drives many stressors and interacts with many nonclimatic stressors. This makes it difficult to forecast outcomes in any general way other than many existing threats to agricultural production, such as erosion and pests, which will most likely be exacerbated under shifting climate (Field et al. 2007; USGCRP 2009). Creating profitable and healthy operations under this unpredictable interplay of factors driven by shifting climate (and, along with it, shifting markets) will…

Farmer costs and benefits from agroforestry and farm forestry projects in Central America and the Caribbean: implications for policy

This paper presents results of an evaluation of the benefits provided by agroforestry and farm forestry projects in Central America and the Caribbean, and the policy implications. Tree planting provided financial benefits to farmers, as well as social, economic and environmental benefits. These justify policy interventions to explicitly recognize the potential of on-farm tree-planting efforts and provide a policy environment favorable to such efforts. New or revised policies are needed, particularly in a period of declining public budgets, to limit external incentives to in-kind inputs, rather than financial subsidies; promote market development for tree products; adopt low-cost, community-based extension strategies; focus research support; and reduce regulatory disincentives.

Strategies for genetic conservation of trees in the Peruvian Amazon

Forestry practices and high rates of land clearance for agriculture are causing genetic erosion of valuable tree species in the Peruvian Amazon, thereby endangering the economic sustainability of rural communities and limiting Perus opportunities for the development of new timber and non-timber forest products. The potential utility and limitations of six low-input interventions to help forestall further genetic erosion in the region are discussed, with a focus on local community involvement. Improved agroforestry systems may help reduce deforestation by increasing farm productivity, although methods to increase the currently low adoption rate of these technologies need to be developed. Use of strategic tree domestication techniques can also improve farm productivity and prevent inadvertent genetic drift and inbreeding associated with traditional domestication practices, although to have a major impact, current programs need to be extended across the region. Woodlot forestry could supplant selective extraction of timber and offers an attractive opportunity for poverty alleviation if appropriate credit and land tenure policies can be developed. However, it may also result in increased deforestation if activities on public land cannot be controlled. The implementation of improved seed collection systems and simple seed transfer guidelines would help to reduce the collection of seed of poor quality and low genetic diversity, and avoid maladapted plantings, although such programs are difficult to monitor and seed costs may increase. Strategic identification and design of in situ conservation areas would help to ensure the viability of conserved populations, but requires the forfeiture of significant revenue from timber concessions.

Moving agroforestry into the mainstream

On 12–15 June 2005 the Ninth North AmericanAgroforestry Conference was held in Rochester,Minnesota, USA with the theme ‘‘Moving Agrofor-estry into the Mainstream.’’ This conferencesummarized and highlighted opportunities in NorthAmerica for integrating agroforestry options at alandscape level to capture social, economic andenvironmental improvement potential that agrofor-estry systems offer. In all, 42 papers and 28 posterswere presented along the themes of applications,adoption, economics, tools for assessment, watershedmanagement and carbon sequestration benefits(Brooks et al. 2005; see the AFTA proceedings forall papers and poster summaries). This special editionof Agroforestry Systems presents 10 papers selectedfrom 42 papers presented at the conference. Theconference was hosted by the Association for Tem-perate Agroforestry (AFTA), the Center forIntegrated Natural Resources and Agricultural Man-agement (CINRAM) at the University of Minnesota,the Southwest Badger RC&D in Wisconsin and theUSDA National Agroforestry Center in Lincoln,Nebraska (The 9th North American AgroforestryConference Proceedings are available from web sitesof AFTA www.aftaweb.org. or CINRAM www.cinram.umn.edu).For agroforestry to move into the mainstream willrequire proven agroforestry applications that can beadopted by landowners. That adoption will oftenhinge on providing viable and economically attrac-tive options and supportive policies. Economicviability can be enhanced by payments for environ-mental services such as carbon sequestration andwater quality improvements generated by agrofor-estry practices. Identifying when and where thesepractices might be viable options and provide envi-ronmental services requires appropriate tools that canhelp agencies and landowners identify those situa-tions. Agroforestry research needs to integrate all ofthe factors that will help to move us to practices thatcan be adopted and truly move agroforestry into themainstream and realize the economic and environ-mental potential that it promises.The intent of this conference was to consider thefactors that affect and that lead to the adoption andimplementation of agroforestry practices in NorthAmerica. A working hypothesis is that in manyinstances agroforestry offers options that bring anarray of benefits in contrast to monocropping systemsthat dominate much of the agricultural landscapes inNorth America. Many of these agricultural practices,such as the intensive corn-soybean farming in theMidwestern USA, have questionable sustainabilityfrom both environmental and economic perspectives.The question being asked in this conference was—can

Harvest of Natural Shrubs with a Biobaler in Various Environments in Québec, Ontario and Minnesota

The biobaler is a novel approach to cut woody crops up to 150-mm basal diameter and compress the biomass into round bales. It can be used to harvest short-rotation woody crop plantations such as willow or hybrid poplar. It can also be used to clear wild brush, forest understory, and encroaching small trees to improve land management. A commercial version of the biobaler was evaluated for the latter purpose, i.e., to harvest natural shrubs in various environments in central Canada (at three sites in Quebec and two sites in Ontario) and in mid-western United States (at seven sites in Minnesota). More than 250 bales were harvested and monitored on natural stands in 2009 and 2010 to gain information on machinery management under wide-ranging conditions of crop species, density, and soil conditions. The harvest rate ranged from 2 to 26 bales/h (average of 14 bales/h). Bale mass averaged 477 kg at 46% moisture content [260 kg dry mass (DM)/bale at a density of 166 kg DM/m³]. Diesel fuel consumption averaged 8.5 L/t DM. Harvesting cost with the biobaler was estimated at

An integrated moral obligation model for landowner conservation norms

33/t DM in high yield with rapid harvest (20 bale/h) and

Co-cultivation of microalgae in aquaponic systems

64/t DM at low capacity (10 bales/h) which can be caused by lower yield or poor traction. The information will be helpful to evaluate the cost of environmental management of natural stands covered with brush and the potential biomass that may be recovered.

THE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF AGROFORESTRY TO FARMERS

ABSTRACT This study applies an integrated moral obligation model to examine the role of environmental and cultural values, and beliefs in the activation of landowner conservation norms. Data for this study were collected through a self-administered survey of riparian landowners in two Minnesota watersheds: Sand Creek and Vermillion River watersheds. Study findings suggest that collectivistic and biospheric–altruistic values form the bases for the activation of personal norms. Further, beliefs about local responsibility and ability to act influence personal norms to protect water resources. Findings suggest that landowners’ personal norms of water conservation are more likely to be activated by conservation strategies that appeal to biospheric–altruistic and collectivistic values, emphasize adverse consequences of water pollution, highlight water resource protection as a local responsibility, and provide the resources needed to protect water resources.

Guidelines for harvesting forest biomass for energy: A synthesis of environmental considerations

Aquaponics is a sustainable system for the future farming. In aquaponic systems, the nutrient-rich wastewater generated by the fish provides nutrients needed for vegetable growth. In the present study, the role of microalgae of Chlorella sp. in the floating-raft aquaponic system was evaluated for ammonia control. The yields of algal biomass, vegetable, and removal of the key nutrients from the systems were monitored during the operation of the aquaponic systems. When the systems were in full operation, the algae production was about 4.15±0.19g/m2·day (dry basis) which is considered low because the growth conditions are primarily tailored to fish and vegetable production. However, it was found that algae had a positive effect on balancing pH drop caused by nitrifying bacteria, and the ammonia could be controlled by algae since algae prefer for ammonia nitrogen over nitrate nitrogen. The algae are more efficient for overall nitrogen removal than vegetables.