Agroforestry Sustainable Management

What is agroforestry?

It is the term used to define land use and management systems and technologies where perennial woody plants (trees, bushes, palm trees, bamboos, etc.) are deliberately used in the same manner as crops and/or animal breeding, while keeping a certain spatial order or activity management in an appropriate sequential manner. There are both ecological and socio-economic interactions among the different components of these agroforestry concessions.

Agroforestry practices may be characterized based on the following criteria:

Structure: composition and distribution (array) of components in space and time.

The role of the tree component: goods produced, and services provided.

The partner’s socio-economic objective vis-a-vis the producers´ livelihoods.
For example: production of coffee for sale, and wood production for family use; firewood and fruits for family consumption.