Directorate of Graduate Training, Research, and Innovations

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Browsing Directorate of Graduate Training, Research, and Innovations by Author "Dobie, Philip"

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    Components of agroforestry systems
    (Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR); World Agroforestry (ICRAF), 2022-09) Gassner, Anja; Cornelius, Jonathan P.; Dobie, Philip; Mercado, Agustin; Mukuralinda, Athanase; Okia, Clement Akias; Pinon, Caroline; Somarriba, Eduardo; Thorne, Peter
    Agroforestry systems are composed of trees and crops, trees and livestock, or trees with both crops and livestock. In this section, we explore the attributes of these components in more detail. A given agroforestry system is often centred on one species, which we call the ‘flagship species’. This is the species that the farmer considers to be the most important one – often because it contributes most strongly to their livelihood. Other components, which we call ‘flotilla species’, are added to provide agroecological services, such as shade, that support the flagship species. The needs of the flagship species (for example, for light or water) determine the types of flotilla species needed, even when these also produce useful goods. For example, when growing shade-intolerant crops like cereals, farmers need to select and plant trees that do not compete with the cereals for light. In many agroforestry systems, the flagship species is an annual crop, a perennial (long-lived) crop (including tree crops), or a livestock species; it can also be a timber species. Some agroforestry systems may have more than one flagship species. Flotilla species can be trees or crops.
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    Principles of agroforestry design
    (Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR); World Agroforestry (ICRAF), 2022-09) Gassner, Anja; Coe, Richard; Cornelius, Jonathan P.; Dobie, Philip; Miccolis, Andrew; Mukuralinda, Athanase; Okia, Clement Akias; Somarriba, Eduardo
    Agroforestry design involves deciding what will be produced, selecting the components of the system, and determining how they will be arranged. These decisions also define how and when the components will be established, and how they will be managed. It also includes other considerations, such as how to support the enabling environment for agroforestry. Farmers have been designing agroforestry systems for millennia – sometimes consciously, sometimes instinctively. Professionals can support this process in several ways: by advising farmers who haven’t managed agroforestry systems before, or farmers who are recent migrants to a given agroecological zone; by helping to ensure that the systems meet wider goals (particularly environmental ones) in such a way that farmers’ interests are not negatively affected; by introducing farmers to new scientific knowledge; by organizing or supporting collaborative design processes that include all relevant stakeholders. In this section, we outline three principles of agroforestry design: farmer-centredness; aptness to people, place and purpose; and synergy. Successful agroforestry interventions follow these design principles. Interventions that ignore them have a high chance of failure.