A review of agroforestry as a sustainable and resilient agriculture

Abstract

The agricultural sector is confronted with the formidable challenge of providing sustenance for a global population of 9 billion individuals by the year 2050, all the while mitigating adverse ecological and societal impacts. An attempt to address this difficulty has been made through the implementation of organic farming practices, which have yielded predominantly favorable results. Nevertheless, there are still certain obstacles that need to be addressed. Organic agricultural practices exhibit lower yields compared to conventional methods, while concerns persist regarding greenhouse gas emissions and fertilizer leaching. This paper provides an overview of existing organic and conventional agriculture systems and proposes that agroforestry, a deliberate integration of trees and shrubs with crops or livestock, may represent a promising avenue for advancing sustainable agriculture. Agroforestry possesses the capacity to sustain productivity and concurrently provide many ecosystem services through the use of nature-inspired methods. This study presents an overview of the prevalent methods and products associated with agroforestry, while also highlighting the positive environmental and social impacts it brings about. The present study aims to examine the obstacles encountered in the implementation of agroforestry practices and to suggest potential strategies for policy modification that could enhance the uptake of such practices among farmers. The findings of this review study indicate that agroforestry emerges as a very effective land use strategy for addressing both food security and environmental degradation concerns.