Agroforestry: A sustainable alternative for Bundelkhand

Despite great potential, agroforestry is not very popular among the farmers of the Bundelkhand region. Awareness raising measures need to be introduced to popularise this sustainable land-management technology .

Bundelkhand, the area on either side of the border dividing southern Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, is one of the most impoverished regions in recent times. The climate of the tract is semi-arid and is characterised by a long hot summer, low and erratic rainfall and a short mild winter. The annual rainfall ranges from 800 to 900 millimetres. Most of the rainfall is lost as a run-off. The soils are immature, structureless and very coarse in texture, with low water-holding capacity and a poor nutrient status. The region has an undulating terrain with rocky outcrops. The slope grades range from 1 to 15 per cent. Unscientific management of the land has resulted in severe soil erosion and formation of gullies and ravines. The dry deciduous forests of the region are in a highly degraded state. The region has a very high livestock population, most of which are derelict and have low productivity. The human -livestock ratio is almost 1:1. The low productivity of livestock is mainly due to the low quality and seasonal nature of forage supply, together with poor digestibility of forage. If most of the cowdung, presently being used as fuel for cooking, is diverted to agriculture, it would tremendously increase the productivity of the land.

Agroforestry is one of the most viable alternative land use systems for degraded lands for maximum sustainable productivity (fuel, fodder and food), while preserving the environment. Agroforestry is defined as an integrated, self-sustaining land management system which involves deliberate introduction or retention of woody components including trees, shrubs, bamboo etc. It comprises agricultural crops having pasture or livestock, on the same unit of land, meeting the ecological as well as socio-economic needs of the people. Agroforestry is fast emerging as an integrated system which is capable of yielding both wood and food (for man and livestock) and at the same time conserving and rehabilitating the ecosystem. Agroforestry systems fulfil both productive and service roles. Agroforestry has great potential for higher and sustained crop production and farm income. Agroforestry systems directly help in soil conservation, efficient utilisation of the underutilised land (belonging to individual farmers), improving the environment and developing a sustainable land use system. Properly applied, agroforestry is a system which is productive, protective and environmentally sound and has the potential not only to increase food, fuel, and income for the marginal farmers, but also to help stop degradation of land and forests.

The agroforestry systems suitable for sustainable development of degraded lands of the Bundelkhand region are :

The system involves the management of land for the production of agricultural crops and forest products (fuelwood, small timber and fodder) and is suitable for marginal and sub-marginal lands. It is possible to grow even 800 trees per hectare, without significantly reducing the crop yield in the initial years. The tree species that can be used are subabool (Leucaena leucocephala) , Eucalyptus spp., siris (Albizzia lebbeck), Anjan (Hardwickia binata), Casuarina eqisetifolia, etc. If the trees are pruned every year, reduction in crop productivity could be significantly minimised. Even in the fourth year, by annual pruning and reducing the number of trees by 40 percent, i.e. from 800 to 480 trees per hectare, the relative crop productivity could be maintained above 85 percent level in the case of wheat and gram. The reduction in yield is more than compensated by the additional income in the form of fuelwood and fodder. In case of alley-cropping, subabool, Sesbania sesban and perennial pigeon pea (along with sorghum, pearl millet, groundnut and grass) can be grown at an alley-width of 7 to 8 metres, without much reduction in the crop yield. The availability of fuelwood from this system helps to divert cowdung to the field for increasing the biomass production.

This system involves growing fruit trees in combination with arable crops. It is suitable for marginal lands and wastelands. In Bundelkhand, this system revolves around the improved varieties of ber (Zizyphus mauriitiana), aonla (Emblica officinalis) and kinnow (Citrus reticulata). Fruit trees are normally grown wide apart, varying from 100 to 400 trees per hectare and crops like wheat, sorghum, sesamum, urad and pigeon pea are grown in the inter-spaces. The ber is pruned every year in April after the fruit-harvest, which also provides additional biomass of leaf fodder and fuelwood.

In this system, in addition to arable crops, MPTS (Multi-Purpose Tree Species) like subabool are grown along with fruit trees like ber and aonla. The MPTS, besides providing green fodder and fuelwood annually, also protect the fruit trees from hot winds in the summer and cold winds in the winter and improve the soil by virtue of their nitrogen-fixing abilities. It is possible to grow 100 to 400 fruit trees per hectare along with arable crops and also with MPTS like subabool (200 to 400 per hectare) which are planted in between the fruit trees.

Silvipastoral system is an ideal combination of grasses, legumes, shrubs and trees. The gullied/ravinous and under-utilised degraded forest lands could be sustainably developed through this system. The animals are either stall-fed or managed under rotational grazing. Suitable tree species include subabool, anjan, Albizzia amara and A. lebbeck. (All of these could be lopped for fodder). The grass species include Cenchrus ciliaris, Cenchrus setigerus, Chrysopogon fulvus and legumes like Stylosanthes hamata and S. scabra. Up to 1,200 trees of the above species could be grown along with grasses and legumes. It is possible to maintain optimum forage production by pruning and lopping the side branches a few years after planting the trees.

In Bundelkhand, bordi trees (Zizyphus nummularia) are seen growing naturally in the range land. There is scope for in situ budding of these plants with improved varieties of ber like gola, seb, umran, banarsi kaker etc. Ber plants are pruned in April every year. In addition to ber, fast growing MPTS like subabool, anjan and good perennial grasses like Cenchrus, Chrysopogon and legumes like Stylosanthes could be introduced in the system. The system could be further improved by introducing livestock on a deferred rotational basis, hence protecting the ber plants during flowering and fruiting seasons.

Despite its great potential, agroforestry is not very popular among the farmers of the region who fear reduction in their sown area. They do not realise that it could be more than compensated by additional income in the form of fuelwood, fodder, fruits, etc. Local people need to be made aware of the multiple-product flow of the various agroforestry systems and the resultant economic insurance as well as its positive impact on their immediate environment. q

Facts and Figures

q	Two of every three people on the planet have never made a telephone call.
q	For just 10% of the world’s annual military expenditures — or about $80 billion more per year — we could lift every family on the planet out of poverty and provide everyone with basic services like health, education, and safe water.
q	2.9 billion people — or two-thirds of the developing world — have no access to a toilet, not even a pit latrine.
q	80% of the world’s population have incomes of less than $700 a year. The ratio of the income of the top 20% to that of the poorest 20% has more than doubled in recent decades — from 30:1 in 1960 to 78:1 in 1994.
q	Private foreign investment in the developing world has soared in the past few years, from $30 billion in 1987 to $160 billion in 1995. But the vast majority of this went to a handful of nations; less than 3% went to all of sub-Saharan Africa.
q	Americans spend less of their income on food than anyone else in the world — down from 21% in 1940 to 11% in 1996. Millions of people worldwide spend as much as 70%.
q	Donations to international causes have fallen more than 10% in the past two years, even as overall charitable giving rose. The $2 billion donated to international affairs groups is the lowest for any sector, representing just 1.3% of all charitable contributions.