Agroforest Syst (2023) 97:273–277

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-023-00829-z

Economics of agroforestry: links between nature and society

Nathalie Cialdella · Michael Jacobson ·
Eric Penot

Received: 14 February 2023 / Accepted: 14 February 2023 / Published online: 8 March 2023
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2023

Introduction France in 2019. It is intended as a contribution on the

economic dimensions of agroforestry, embracing sev-
Climate emergency and rural poverty, especially in eral scales, from the plot to the state, and several lev-
developing countries, call for a shift to new paradigms els of socio-productive complexity. Through a pool of
regarding farming practices and the relations between study cases carried out in several countries from four
farmers (including (agro)forest farmers) and nature. continents (Africa, Asia, Europe South America, and
Agroforestry is an emblematic agricultural model that United States) the authors bring new light on the eco-
combines trees and plants export products (rubber, nomic benefits of agroforestry, the need to improve its
clove, timber, resins…) and food production, with development worldwide, and the main socio-political
ecosystems services, such as carbon capture. How- determinants that explains agroforestry within territo-
ever, dissemination of the benefits of agroforestry still rial dynamics.
faces path dependency in innovation processes (van Fourteen papers were accepted for the special
Noordwijk 2021; Martin et al. 2022). Agroforestry issue. We sorted the papers into three groups.
systems still lack of both economic and technical field A first group of papers focuses on the role and
realities, as well as a better understanding of (agro) significance of the positive externalities provided by
forest farmers’ practices, strategies and perceptions. agroforestry, especially trade-offs of intercropping,
Although agroforestry has been practiced for millen- compared to other agriculture practices. Intercrop-
nia, it remains a relatively young and widely open ping’ is a practice used to diversify crops in agrofor-
field of research due to the importance of the context estry systems. Literature often highlights that agrofor-
in which agroforestry practices are developed. estry supports a diversity of production systems but
This special issue drew mainly from papers pre- what is really at stake? Addressed questions include:
sented at the 4th World Congress on Agroforestry in what are the trade-offs between crop diversity and
productivity, or between crop diversity and manage-
ment strategies? What thresholds and conditions to
N. Cialdella (*) · E. Penot achieve an economic profitability?
CIRAD, UMR INNOVATION, INRAE, Univ Montpellier,
A second group of papers explore the short, mid
Institut Agro, 34398 Montpellier, France
e-mail: [email protected] and long-term consequences for farmers’ organiza-
tions. A topical question addressed is: what does
M. Jacobson agroforestry adoption change in terms of cash flow,
Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, The
income and wellbeing?
Pennsylvania State University, 10, University Park, PA,
USA

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A third group of papers brings new elements of benefit of the Acacia decurrens based Agroforestry
reflection on methodologies developed to understand land use system in small-scale farms. Acacia decur-
the impact of public policies and long-term trends rens intercropped was found to provide better income
(such as market trends) in the emerging and spreading for small-holder farmers. These results can help to
of agroforestry systems in the world. These papers draft recommendations on mixed land use system in
often combine social sciences approaches such as the study region and broader in similar conditions. In
sociology, ethnology or geography, with more clas- Central Asia, wind breaks have a long tradition but
sical method of economy. Trans-disciplinarity is thus suffered a decline in the 1990s due to a massive cut
emphasized to better understand the complexity of down for fuel wood (Thevs and Aliev 2021). The
processes involved in agroforestry implementation by authors present a financial analysis on most popu-
the farmers, but also to experiment and improve par- lar windbreak systems combined with wheat, barley,
ticipative and action research. corn, alfalfa, cotton, and rice in Kyrgyzstan, based on
interviews and field observations. The results show
that not all the combinations are economically profit-
Agroforestry and the intercropping economic able; multiple tree rows shelterbelts did not result in
trade‑offs financial gains for most crop tree windbreak systems
compared to open field conditions, while single tree
Four articles focused on the economic trade-offs of line windbreaks are cost neutral.
agroforestry versus other agricultural systems. Mul-
tifunctionality of annual/perennial intercropping with
trees has been demonstrated to help diversify sources Articulation of different times scales
of income, provide bioenergy, shade for pasture and to understand farmers strategies for Agroforestry
animals, wind, soil and water protection, etc. How-
ever, the intercropping implementation raises some Seven articles focused on the economics of farmer’s
technical questions (e.g., density, time of profitabil- strategies and tried to articulate short, mid and long
ity). In Croatia, for instance, there is a growing inter- terms in agroforestry farmers practices and strategies.
est in walnut orchards for nut production on arable On the one hand, and at the farm level, prominent
land, but the long-term investments required may short-term issues were cash flow – day to day farm-
dampen farmers decision for planting (Žalac et al. ers and their family’s needs, or workload and labour
2021). The authors propose a biophysical simulation requirement especially when allocating work force
model tool (Yield-SAFE) to determine the growth for planting and caring for young trees before harvest
and yield of crops and trees in arable, orchard, and (immature period). Then consideration must be made
silvoarable systems, and an economic farm model for midterm and economic return in the long term.
(Farm-SAFE) was used to assess their profitabil- Long term issues of agroforestry, and its economic
ity. They show that intercropping is more produc- profitability, strengthens relations between agrarian
tive than separate arable and walnut production for dynamics and especially agricultural public policies.
all tree density scenarios. Their results suggest that Huang et al. (2022) provide a systematic review
silvo-arable agroforestry is a profitable approach to examining narratives of economic outcomes of the
establishing walnut orchards. In England, Smith et al. mature rubber production systems. They found that
(2021) address the question of profitability of bound- monoculture rubber production may produce higher
ary hedges, planted for bioenergy. They used a simu- income in the short term especially when rubber
lation model (FarmSAFE) for a financial assessment prices are high. However, they report economically
using data generated from several trials (standards vs advantageous systems appeared to be rubber com-
alternative hedgerow management) and scenarios for bined with species which provide additional income
wood-fuel production over a 60-year time horizon. in the medium to long term (e.g., sheep and high
In the northwest Ethiopian highlands, trees such as value timber) and/or enhance ongoing cash flow with
Acacia decurrens are also intercropped, as shown in a a lengthy productive lifespan and regular harvests in
study carried out by Mulatie Mekonnen et al. (2021). other fruit species (e.g. durian and Gnetum). How-
They investigated the productivity and economic ever, these systems are subject to many constraints

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such as labour availability, investment and manage- while planted trees are mainly for food resources.
ment capacity and market conditions for second- These multiple functions of trees, as far as the role of
ary products. Frey et al. (2021) explore research on preserving remnants must be considered for climate
the producers, production, marketing, and sales of mitigation and for allowing the survival of the species
NTFPs in the United States, including the continuum throughout several cycles of perennial crops.
of production from wild-harvesting to forest farm- In Madagascar’s east coast, where Agroforestry
ing of NTFPs, and their costs and benefits. They systems are ubiquitous and structure the landscapes,
show that integrating NTFPs into forest management French colonial policy was also determinant in the
can enhance economic opportunities but also will AFS dynamics (Mariel et al. 2022). In the past cen-
increase complexity, and will entail balancing mul- tury French colonial government required farmers
tiple and potentially conflicting objectives among a to produce industrial crops for export, thereby trig-
diverse community of stakeholders. gering the production of coffee at first, then cloves.
In Sri Lanka; Forest gardens (FGs) are tree-dom- Farmers gradually abandoned slash and burn cultiva-
inant land uses in farming systems. Melvani et al. tion (tavy) mainly for these compulsory crops, pav-
(2020) compared Forest gardens financial perfor- ing the way for an economy based on trade and the
mance with other farming systems components in the monetization with a significant positive impact on
short-term (reference year, 2012–2013) and long-term agricultural income. Boubacar et al (2022) demon-
(beyond 2013). They show the importance of FGs to strate that the economic importance of fuelwood in
food and fuelwood self-sufficiency in the short term family resources is not a sufficient trigger for farmers
but also over time provide the Net Realisable Value to restore their parklands in Niger. Declines in pub-
(NRV) across all land uses. Since FGs occupied 68% lic support and investing in parkland enrichment also
of the study area, their substantial biological and land significantly impact local arrangements for the multi-
assets had high non-Current asset values. The authors use governance of the parkland resources. The low
provide a method to assess the financial viability of density of young trees indicates that during the past
forest farming systems that could be recognized in decade, there have been fewer efforts to enrich park-
national economic performance assessments. lands compared to the 1980s, when Assisted Natural
Transdisciplinary methodological approaches have Regeneration (ANR) projects were first implemented.
been developed to understand the socio-economic The 3 parklands studied are in the process of becom-
determinants of transformations in agroforestry sys- ing severely degraded because dead old trees are no
tems (AFS) over time, and the public policies impact longer replaced through ANR which has implications
on them. For instance, Pedelahore et al. (2022) pre- for villager’s interest in sustainable management of
sent a method based on the analysis of diachronic natural forests.
data collected at three levels: country, region and
farm. It offers a new method of spatiotemporal trian-
gulation, making it possible to identify and classify Enhancing agroforestry and multiple
the main socio-economic determinants of these trans- uses of forest: methodologies, adoption
formations. Examples of Cameroonian cocoa-based and engagement
agroforestry systems are given and show that upturns
and slowdown of cocoa-based agroforestry systems Three articles focus on the importance of farmers’
are first linked to farmers labour force and invest- perceptions, practices and strategies towards agrofor-
ments, and secondly impacted by the sector vitality estry but also on participative methodologies aiming
or the aging of the cocoa trees and the yield decline. at engaging farmers and researchers in the seek for
Sanial et al. (2022) confirm that Ivorian cocoa-based alternatives and socio-technical solutions.
agroforestry systems are shaped by human manage- Gosling et al. (2020) designed a method that cou-
ment of associated trees and that ecosystem services ples rapid rural appraisal and normative optimisation
are weakly linked to environmental variables. Trees techniques to determine favourable land-use com-
in these systems provide different services: remnants positions for meeting various socio-economic and
stock provide most above-ground carbon, but recruits ecological goals, based on farmers’ empirical knowl-
are the most diverse and provide medicinal resources edge and preferences, involving smallholder farmers

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in Eastern Panama. She found differences in farm- and agroforestry systems change depending on local
ers’ perceptions and provides valuable information contexts, price evolution and volatility. Agrofor-
about potential acceptability of agroforestry among estry is not a panacea adaptable to everywhere as it
them. Resque et al. (2021) assessed ecosystem ser- is often a product of history and particular adaptation
vices from the point of view of farmers, by design- between soils, climate, crop opportunity (for self-con-
ing and using a Role-Playing game in the northern sumption and now more and more for local or export
Brazilian Amazon. The game was developed using a markets), markets and global adaptation to local spe-
co-construction process that mainly included farm- cific constraints. But agroforestry when it is adopted
ers, students and researchers. The results showed that and developed, provides a range of technical solu-
game sessions showed how the provision of ecosys- tions with significative impact on farmers’ incomes,
tem services, through agroforestry systems, as well as countries’ exports, contribution to national richness,
other factors (e.g., values, availability of factors), is as well as improved well-being. Agroforestry patterns
considered in planning the spatio-temporal configu- display a wide gradient from re-introducing diver-
ration of the agroecosystem and associated agricul- sity in complex cropping systems (intercropping/tree
tural practices. Thus, the Role-Playing Game allowed associations) to forest management and Non-Timber
stakeholders to synthesize and discuss different types Forest Products (NTFPs) gathering. Biodiversity
of knowledge about this process and brought a new might be high (jungle rubber, complex multi-scale
light on ecological management of agroecosystems agroforestry systems) or low (simple agroforestry sys-
and solutions that are in line with local expectations. tems such as coffee under shading).
In the French West Indies social innovation is criti- Indeed, several projects located in tropical forests
cal in shaping human-forest relationships. Farmers show an intensification of production practices, from
and scientists engage with each other to design sus- gathering to a diversity of cultivation practices, that
tainability transitions. Barlagne et al. (2021) designed questions the definition of agroforestry and may push
a participatory stakeholders’ engagement platform the frontiers between two scientific communities. For
to draw on local farmers’ knowledge and experience example, contributions of NTFPs to household econ-
in identifying sustainable pathways for the develop- omies (with example in the United States), shows
ment of multi-functional agroforestry in Guadeloupe. the continuum of production from forest farming to
Results show that while farmers envision prosperous wild harvesting of NTFPs, and their costs and ben-
multifunctional forest farms in the future, they must efits. Economics show that income diversification is
face complex challenges that require solutions at becoming a way to acquire better resilience in a world
multiple scales and suggest different types of innova- dominated by uncertainties and commodity prices
tion: social, institutional, market-based and technical. volatility. There is still much to learn about economic
Farmers saw themselves as being part of the socio- and social impacts of agroforestry. We argue that
ecological system and as custodians of the natural such a holistic approach will help understanding the
environment. These findings question the opportunity complexity of agroforestry in the field, will provide
for an innovation ecosystem thinking approach that evidence of agroforestry benefits and will evidence
integrates better the agricultural and forestry sectors, social practices and dynamics in the short, mid and
but also between actors and scales of governance. long term.
Embedment of the stakeholders’ platform and its ena-
bling processes in the innovation ecosystem is key to
achieve those objectives.
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