How can small-scale farmers benefit from trees on farms?

How can small-scale farmers benefit from trees on farms?

Subject: Schemes

Sec: Env

Agroforestry:

• Agriculture in India, traditionally involving a mix of crops, trees, and livestock known as agroforestry, is gaining popularity after years dominated by monocropping due to the Green Revolution.
• Agroforestry, which can improve both farmer livelihoods and environmental conditions, saw renewed interest with the National Agroforestry Policy introduced in 2014, supported by four decades of research investment.
• Despite its benefits, agroforestry adoption is more common among farmers with larger landholdings due to the long growth period for trees, financial barriers, and poor market connections.

Trees Outside of Forests India (TOFI) initiative:

• The ‘Trees Outside of Forests India’ (TOFI) initiative, a collaboration between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, aims to increase tree cover in seven Indian states by leveraging potential expansion opportunities and strategic actions.
• Key challenges identified in these states—Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh—include limited water availability and financial support for transitioning to agroforestry.
• Despite these obstacles, solutions appear feasible and within reach, offering hope for improving tree cover outside traditional forest areas.

Jaltol- a water accounting tool:

• The National Agroforestry Policy, introduced by India’s Ministry of Agriculture in 2014, recognized water availability as a significant challenge, particularly for smallholders who often face financial difficulties in securing water resources.
• To address this, a collaboration with Bengaluru-based WELL Labs adopted an open-source water-accounting tool, ‘Jaltol’, to identify potential conflicts between tree and crop water usage.
• This technology assists restoration practitioners and civil society organizations in choosing suitable tree-crop combinations for agroforestry in water-limited areas.

Finding the right native species:

• Farmers often prefer fast-growing, herbivore-resistant trees, but these tend to be non-native and can negatively impact soil health and human well-being.
• For instance, non-native species like casuarina and eucalyptus are favoured for their tolerance to saline soils and minimal labour needs, but they are typically used in large mono-crop plantations rather than in mixed or small-scale settings.
• To effectively address land degradation and enhance livelihood diversification, it’s necessary to find native species that meet multiple criteria.
• Diversity for Restoration:
  • A tool developed to help with decision-making on the use of appropriate tree species and seed sources for tree-based restoration or other tree planting activities, originally designed for tropical dry forests in Colombia, and aimed at all those interested in planting or regenerating trees, including scientists, restoration planners and practitioners as well as public authorities, investors and donors.

Indian Forest and Wood Certification Scheme 2023:

• Objective:
  • The IFWCS is designed to provide a domestic alternative to private foreign certification agencies, aiming to enhance integrity, transparency, and credibility in certifying sustainable forest management and wood-based products.
• Certification Scope:
  • Sustainable Forest Management: Ensures forests are managed sustainably.
  • Sustainable Management of Trees Outside Forests: Includes plantations and other non-forest tree areas.
  • Chain of Custody: Ensures traceability of forest products through their supply chain to guarantee ethical sourcing and handling.
• Nodal Agencies:
  • Indian Forest and Wood Certification Council: Serves as a multistakeholder advisory body.
  • Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal: Acts as the scheme operating agency responsible for overall management.
  • National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (Quality Council of India): Accredits certification bodies to conduct independent audits and ensure compliance with the standards.
• Trees Outside Forests Standard:
  • This new standard covers trees growing in non-traditional forest environments, such as farm lands, private institutional and industrial lands, and includes trees in agroforestry systems, silvo-pastoralism, and urban and rural forestry systems.
• Benefits:
  • Enhances trust and transparency in forest management and the wood product industry.
  • Provides market incentives for entities adhering to responsible forest management and agroforestry practices, including state forest departments, individual farmers, Farmer Producer Organizations, and wood-based industries.
• Global Context:
  • The launch of IFWCS is part of global efforts to combat deforestation, aligning with commitments made by over 100 countries at the 2021 Glasgow climate change conference to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030.

Source: TH