Agroforestry and Value Addition | Agriculture Optional Notes for UPSC PDF Download

Social Forestry

• Social forestry involves managing and developing forests by afforesting barren lands to achieve environmental benefits and promote rural development.
• The term "social forestry" was initially coined by the National Commission on Agriculture in the Indian government in 1976.
• India initiated a social forestry project in order to reduce the pressure on existing forests and utilize unused and fallow land.
• Afforestation was prioritized in government forest areas near human settlements that had suffered degradation due to human activities. Trees were planted in and around agricultural fields, along roadsides, railway lines, and river and canal banks. Additionally, trees were planted on village common land, government wasteland, and Panchayat land.
• The government offered incentives to ensure the proper care and maintenance of the planted saplings. Initially, there was a focus on the free distribution of USUFRUCT species.
• The program was launched as a mass mobilization effort, aiming to involve the general population in these activities.

Benefits of Social forestry Programme

• Social forestry aims to expand income options beyond farming or crop-related activities for impoverished farmers and landless laborers.
• Its design includes improving land utilization by addressing issues of wasteland encroachment in forestry plantations.
• This program was conceived as one element within an afforestation initiative with the goal of increasing India's total forested area to meet the 33% target.
• It became integrated into a program for developing wastelands, promoting the use of forested land on slopes and upstream areas.
• With the introduction of this scheme, the government officially acknowledged the rights of local communities to forest resources and now actively encourages rural involvement in natural resource management.
• Through the social forestry scheme, the government has engaged local communities as part of an effort to promote afforestation and restore degraded forest and communal lands.

Shortcomings of Social forestry Programme

• While the concept of social forestry was groundbreaking, its implementation in India faced significant challenges, resulting in limited success.
• The main issue stemmed from misdirected incentives provided to farmers and villagers, which encouraged them to engage in social forestry activities. Unfortunately, this led to the conversion of agricultural land into forestry, which negatively impacted agricultural prospects and food security.
• Although the program recommended the use of USUFRUCT species, the lack of ecological knowledge and specific guidance resulted in the widespread planting of eucalyptus, which is ecologically inappropriate for the Indian context.

Types of Social Forestry

The various types of social forestry systems are shown in the chart below:

Farm forestry

• Presently, in nearly all countries with social forestry programs, both commercial and non-commercial farm forestry are being promoted in various ways.
• The encouragement of individual farmers to plant trees on their own land to fulfill their family's domestic needs is a common practice. This aligns with the tradition of tree cultivation on farmland in many regions.
• The primary focus of many social forestry projects today is on non-commercial farm forestry.
• It's not always necessary for farmers to grow trees for economic purposes, as often they are motivated by non-economic reasons. They may want to cultivate trees for purposes such as providing shade for agricultural crops, creating windbreaks, promoting soil conservation, or reclaiming wasteland.

Urban Forestry

• Urban forestry refers to the cultivation and care of trees on land, whether it's privately or publicly owned, within or near urban areas, with the aim of enhancing the urban environment.
• Urban forestry encompasses the oversight of both individual trees and groups of trees. It's important to note that urban forestry isn't limited to trees that have been deliberately planted.
• Some urban trees may have naturally grown in their environment, but in areas where land competition is fierce, they are unlikely to thrive unless they are actively cultivated and maintained.
• Urban forestry also involves the management of forests on the outskirts of urban areas.

Rural Forestry

Rural forestry encompasses two main categories:

• Community Forestry
  • Community forestry involves the cultivation of trees on communal land, as opposed to private land, which is typical in farm forestry. These programs are designed to benefit the entire community, rather than individual landowners.
  • The government is responsible for providing seedlings and fertilizers, while the community bears the responsibility of protecting the trees.
  • Some communities manage their plantations sensibly and sustainably, ensuring ongoing benefits for the village.
  • Others may exploit the common land by selling the timber for short-term individual profit.
  • Over the past two decades, there has been extensive planting of fast-growing exotic species like Eucalyptus in India as part of the broader "social forestry" initiative, aimed at reforesting the subcontinent and ensuring an adequate timber supply for rural communities.
• Agroforestry:
  • Agroforestry is a land-use system that integrates trees and shrubs into farmlands and rural landscapes to enhance productivity, profitability, diversity, and ecological sustainability.
  • It is an ecologically-based natural resource management system that diversifies and sustains production while building social institutions.
  • Agroforestry combines forestry practices with:
    • The production of multiple outputs while preserving the resource base.
    • The use of various indigenous trees and shrubs.
    • Suitability for low-input conditions and fragile environments.
  • It involves a strong interplay of socio-cultural values, more so than in many other land-use systems.
  • Structurally and functionally, agroforestry is more complex than monoculture farming.
  • Agroforestry systems encompass both traditional and modern land-use practices, where trees are managed in conjunction with crops and/or animal production systems.
  • Agroforestry is applied in both irrigated and rain-fed conditions, yielding food, fuel, fodder, timber, fertilizer, and fiber. It contributes to food security, nutritional well-being, ecological sustainability, livelihood improvement, poverty reduction, and the development of productive and resilient agricultural environments.
  • Additionally, agroforestry has the potential to enhance ecosystem services by storing carbon, preventing deforestation, conserving biodiversity, and promoting soil and water conservation. It can also help agricultural land withstand extreme weather events and climate change when implemented on a large scale with the right mix of tree species.

Benefits of Agroforestry System

Environmental Benefits

• Relief for Natural Forests: Alleviation of pressure on natural forests.
• Efficient Nutrient Recycling: Enhanced recycling of nutrients thanks to deep-rooted trees.
• Ecological System Protection: Improved safeguarding of ecological systems.
• Mitigation of Runoff and Erosion: Reduced surface runoff, nutrient leaching, and soil erosion due to tree roots and stems impeding these processes.
• Microclimate Enhancement: Microclimate improvement through methods such as reducing soil surface temperatures and curbing soil moisture evaporation via mulching and shading.
• Soil Nutrient Increase: Augmented soil nutrients through the addition and decomposition of leaf litter.
• Enhanced Soil Structure: Enhanced soil structure through the continual incorporation of organic matter from decomposing litter.
• Forestry Target Achievement: Agroforestry is seen as a key means to reach the goal of increasing forest and tree cover to 33%, as outlined in the National Forest Policy of 1988. Currently, it stands at less than 25%.
• Climate Change Mitigation: Agroforestry possesses the potential to mitigate the effects of climate change by moderating microclimates and conserving natural resources in the short term, while also sequestering carbon in the long run. Agroforestry species can store as much carbon in below-ground biomass as primary forests, surpassing crop and grass systems.

Economic Benefits

• Output Increase: Expansion in the production of food, fuelwood, fodder, fertilizer, and timber.
• Crop Failure Reduction: Decreased occurrence of total crop failure, which is common in single-cropping or monoculture systems.
• Income Augmentation: Higher and sustained farm productivity leading to increased farm income.
• Employment Generation: Agroforestry holds substantial potential to create employment opportunities in rural and urban areas through production, industrial applications, and value-added endeavors. Approximately 65% of the country's timber demand is currently met by trees cultivated on farms.

Social Benefits

• Enhanced Living Standards: Improved rural living standards due to sustained employment and increased income.
• Nutrition and Health Enhancement: Improved nutrition and health resulting from higher quality and variety of food products.
• Community Stabilization: Stabilization and improvement of communities by eliminating the need to relocate farming activities to new sites.