The summary provides an overview of ICRAF's agroforestry program in South Asia. ICRAF's South Asia program focuses on addressing challenges of poverty, hunger, land degradation, and climate change through agroforestry. It develops protocols for integrating trees into farming systems and linking agroforestry products to markets. The program operates through partnerships with national agricultural research systems and ecology/commodity-based projects. It prioritizes improved germplasm, agroforestry intensification and diversification, impact assessment, land rehabilitation, climate change adaptation and mitigation, bioenergy, and developing supportive policies and incentives. Recent opportunities include new projects on climate resilience, carbon sequestration, bio

1. Agroforestry Program in South Asia
V.P. Singh, Regional Coordinator for
South Asia
New Delhi, India

3. South Asia Program context
Agroforestry is:
• A specialized way of farming practiced on
the farm (outside forests)
• Revolves around high value low volume
systems, value addition, employment and
income generation opportunities
• South Asia Program focuses on enhancing
native systems, on innovating approaches
and systems and their applications
• All projects are of intra-regional and inter-
regional importance

4. ICRAF- SOUTH ASIA
Concentrates on challenges of:
Poverty (low and unstable income)
Hunger, poor nutrition and health
Social disparity & inequality; gender, social classes
Land degradation, climate change, ecosystem services
Develops protocols for integrating trees in
the farming system and for value addition
and market linkages for products
Implements projects through partners

5. South Asia operates through
• Multiple partnerships
• National agriculture / forestry R&D systems
• Ecology/ commodity / product based
coordinated projects and networks
• Focusing on national capacity building
• Accessing national capacity strengths
• Resource and credit sharing

6. Ecology
Network Hilly and Indo- Semi Arid Costal
Mountainous Gangetic and Arid Humid Zones
areas Plains Regions
Timber/ Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
F Other Wood Bangladesh, India, Nepal India, Pakistan India, Maldives
Bhutan, India, Pakistan,
u Products Nepal, Sri Lanka
e
l Climate Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
Change Bangladesh, India, Nepal, India, Pakistan India, Sri Lanka,
& Bhutan, India, Pakistan Maldives
Nepal, Pakistan
F
Medicinal Bangladesh Bangladesh, India, Pakistan India,
o Bhutan, India, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka,
Products
d Nepal Pakistan Maldives
d
e Fruits& nuts Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, India , Nepal, India, Maldives
r Nepal, Sri Lanka Pakistan

7. South Asia Priorities and Focus
• Improved germplasm and high quality
planting material supply systems
• Agroforestry intensification and
diversification
• Agroforestry product demand, market
and value chain analysis
• Impact assessment and value tagging of
major agroforestry systems

8. South Asia priorities and focus---
• Land degradation assessment and
rehabilitation of degraded lands
• Climate change mitigation and
adaptation, carbon finance
• Bioenergy / bio-fuels policy, technical
advancements and practical solutions
• Inter-regional partnerships

9. Sustainable tree seed and seedling
supply systems---
• Established networking for
regional tree domestication
• Carried out planting
material production and
supply inventory, need and
gap analysis in India,
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
• Assessed the public and
private planting material
supply systems in India and
Bangladesh

10. Sustainable tree seed and Seedling
supply systems---
• Initiated programs for
improving the supply in
Bangladesh, India and
Sri Lanka
• Included planting
material supply aspects
in the agroforestry
curricula
• Drafted planting material
production guidelines

11. Improved on-farm productivity of trees and
agroforestry systems
• Constraint to AF adoption
analysed (north-western
vs. eastern India) and
generic extension
material for accelerating
adoption developed
• Integration of fruit, tuber
and spices in timber
systems studied in-terms
of nutrient and water
balance
• Substitution of poplars
and eucalypt with other
sp. being explored

12. Improved on-farm productivity of trees and
agroforestry systems
• High density Rejuvenating Old Mango Trees through Heading
plantation of fruits back and Management Techniques
A.K. Singh*,IARI; V.P. Singh** & Devashree Nayak**, ICRAF, New Delhi, India
Introduction
Aged trees, 45 years and older ones are susceptible to disease and insect pests, less responsive to inputs and management,
and as a result have very low productivity, and limit inter cropping because of closed canopy. Options for increasing
orchard productivity are:
a) total uprooting or selective thinning and replanting Objectives
(expensive, time consuming and legally cumbersome Reinvigorate orchard productivity through economical and
option) time saving means
b) rejuvenating trees through differential pruning / Reduce initial investment and enhance farm income
heading back and proper management (a preferred
Prolong tree life and enhance productivity
option).
Methodology
Identified old, non-responsive, lowly productive but
apparently healthy looking trees in the orchard
Physically inspected and noted each tree canopy and light
passing through it for deciding the level of canopy
opening: total, partial, central or peripheral canopy
Canopy opening
opening
Pruned the selected trees, and provided them adequate
nutrients and water in the tree basin and protection from
pests by applying paint on the pruned surfaces
Managed orchard weeds and insect pests and mulched the
inter- tree spaces .
Emergence of shoots
Precautions
Prune / head back in suitable weather conditions or with
good irrigation facilities
Practice slant cut using sharp edge tools
Apply copper oxychloride paint on the cut surface
immediately after heading back
Results Rejuvenated trees
Harvested timber value equivalent to 4 - 5 fruit crops;
valued at Indian Rs 2400-7500 per tree depending on the
level of canopy opening
1st year: Emergence of new shoots only, no fruits
2nd year: A good canopy and mature buds; fruiting in some
branches
3rd year onwards a bumper mango crop; 8-12 ton / ha
against average 6 ton / ha of productive orchard
Tree life extended atleast for another 20 years.
Conclusion Flowering & Fruiting in rejuvenated trees
The techniques have been proven successful in mango, guava, chikoo (sapota) and amla (Indian gooseberry)
Possibility of intercropping cereals, low canopy fruit trees, timber species and rhizomatous & tuber crops
Visiting farmers are successfully adopting the techniques
For further information: * aksingh36@yahoo.com; ** v.p.singh@cgiar.org; d.nayak@cgiar.org

13. Impact assessment of major agroforestry systems
• Ongoing in the following areas:
-- Timber based (poplar and eucalypt) in north-
western India
-- Fruit based systems:
• Mango in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and
Karnataka,
• Guava in Uttar Pradesh,
• Pomegranate in Maharashtra, and
• Custard apple in Rajasthan

14. Mapping of trees outside the forests:
Dominant Species (country level analysis)
Species (% trees)
Mangifera indica 8.91
Azadirachta indica 4.36
Cocos nucifera 4.29
Acacia arabica 3.87
Prosopis cineraria 3.26
Borassus flabelliformis 1.79
Phebalium columi 1.20
Bassia (Madhuca) latifolia 1.09
Ficus sp. 0.66
Tamarindus indica 0.62

15. Mapping of trees at Village (Micro) Level
in Lucknow District, UP, India
Boundary
Plantation
Block Plantation

16. Improving tree product marketing for
small holders
Two main studies being
conducted in this area:
Value chain analysis and
new product development
for custard apple, aonla,
bael, and some MADP
plants,
A study of leaf meal feed
and fodder market in India

17. Reducing land health risk and rehabilitation of
degraded lands through agroforestry
• Extent of eroded (Rajasthan), surface mined (UP), mine
tailing (Orissa) and sand deposits (Assam) monitored,
• Soils analyzed and calibrated with the spectral
signatures for large scale soil loss assessment,
• Public and private rehabilitation efforts of degraded
lands through agroforestry being compiled,
• Rehabilitation of degraded lands through agroforestry
being studied

18. Regenerating degraded lands
through agroforestry
Before
After

19. Agroforestry systems for climate
change adaptation and mitigation
• Held an international workshop
for mainstreaming climate
change research in agriculture,
• Identified and described
.
farmers coping and adaptation
strategies to climate variability,
• Organized a network for
developing adaptation
mechanisms to extreme events
• Carbon and nitrogen dynamics
in temperate and tropical soils
under different in-situ temp.
regimes is being studied

20. Benefiting small holders through
carbon sequestration and finance
Vivekananda
Parvatiya Krishi
Anusandhan
• Assembled a tool box Sansthan,
Almora,
for carbon Uttarakhand
accounting, Maharana Pratap
Orissa University
University of
• Orientated NARS on Agriculture and
.
World Agroforestry
Center (ICRAF),
of Agriculture
and Technology,
Technology,
carbon assessment Udaipur,
Regional Office for Bhubaneswar,
Orissa
South Asia,
and finance Rajasthan
New Delhi
mechanisms, Consortium Leader
• Network project Central Research
Institute for
operating at four sites OUTREACH,
Dryland
• Convergence sought
Agriculture,
Bangalore,
Hyderabad, Andhra
Karnataka
with MNREGA, IFFDC, Pradesh
IFAD, GIZ,DONONE,
Ambuja Cements and
other programs

21. Bioenergy / bio-fuels policy, technical
advancements and practical solutions
• Conducted a complete life cycle analysis of
producing bio- diesel from jatropha and
compared it with other sources,
• Published a number of journal papers and a
booklet, and guided one Ph. D and two M S
students,
• Prepared a national level bio-fuel policy
document through lead economists, and plan to
organize a national / regional debate on this
issue

22. Developing policies and incentives for
agroforestry
Agroforestry Policy:
--- StateAgroforestry Policy for Chhatishgarh, India
drafted and the National Agroforestry Policy for Sri
Lanka being done,
--- Contributing to the development of an International
Agroforestry Policy,
Modification of state legislature:
---Tree felling, transit and selling regulations,
Chhatishgarh, India
--- State Agroforestry Authority established in
Chhatishgarh, India

23. Staffing
• Four full time new staff: Dr. C. Ravikumar
(carbon finance), Dr. Kabita Bhardwaj (fruits),
Dr. Babita Bohra (fodder); one position is
being arranged for interviews
• Two part time staff: Dr. Giashuddin Miah
(Liaison for Bangladesh), Dr. Buddhi
Marambe (home gardens mgt, Sri Lanka)
• Two consultants: Dr. Dinesh Marothia
(impact assessment), Dr. S.S. Baghel
(planting materials production and
certification protocols and guidelines)

24. Recently realized and New opportunities:
Realized:
• Core support from ICAR, $150 K
• US $ 1.5 m on Livelihoods and carbon finance, NAIP/ World
Bank, India
• Bangladesh Taka 16 m on Climate change and livelihoods,
NATP / World Bank, Bangladesh
• Sri Lankan Rupees 1.6 m on Bio-fuels, Science Foundation
In Principle approved projects:
• Euros 300 k on Sand Dune Stabilization, GIZ, India
• Can $ 1.2 m on Alleviation of poverty and malnutrition in
agro-biodiversity hot spots with MSSRF and Uni. Alberta
from IDRC / CIDA
• US $ 2.0 on Water Augmentation with MSSRF and Uni.
Nebraska from Indo-USA S&T Forum

25. Realized and New opportunities----
New projects and programs:
• Climate Resilient Agri., Climate Change Fund, India, $1.5-2.0
(CN submitted)
• Climate change and carbon sequestration, India, $1.9 m, World
Bank, India (CN approved, first draft being developed)
• Bio-energy, IFAD, $ 1.5- 3.0 (has been submitted)
• Negotiations in progress with DANONE, Ambuja Cements and
J.K. Industries for buying carbon credits under their CSR
• Established program in Bangladesh, August, 2010
• New MoU signed with Sri Lanka, March, 2011
• Launching of the Asian Network on Evergreen Agriculture
scheduled on 14 May, 2011.

26. Recently realized and New opportunities:
● Africa- India bridge started:
44 Scholarships for MS and Ph. D in 2010; 125 for 2011
100 post- doc fellowships in 2010; 17 in Agri.
Six soil & tissue analysis lab.
Germplasm exchange got moving
Training and skills enhancement of ICRAF staff to be
sponsored by ICAR
• Hosting arrangements for the next World Agroforestry
Congress (Feb. 2014) started
● South-East Asia bridge approved, and potential areas,
including agroforestry, climate change and watershed
management tentatively identified with ICAR

27. Thank
you