Examining the Economic Advantages of Agroforestry

Despite the increase in awareness about the economic and environmental benefits of agroforestry as an appropriate land use practice, the adoption of this practice is relatively low in various subtropical regions including the Andean mountains, Bolivia. Bolivia, like the majority of subtropical highland regions, experiences various environmental problems. These issues can be solved by the adoption of ideal agroforestry practices. Regardless of the apparent benefits of agroforestry, there exists various determinants of the adoption of agroforestry in such areas as Bolivia. The determinants include culture, perceived economic benefits, farmer’s attitudes, age, and migration patterns (Zerihun, Muchie, & Worku, 2014, p. 7). Agroforestry has previously been found to be a sustainable land practice with a vast history in Bolivian highlands. By understanding farmer’s knowledge and their culture in relation to different tree species helps in changing agroforestry systems that has previously been termed as actor oriented (Jacobi, 2016, p. 41). Agroforestry in Bolivia: opportunities and challenges in the context of food security and food sovereignty. Environmental Conservation, 43(4), pp.307-316. The measurement of cultural significance of various plants is very important in ethnobotanical studies that are quantitative and a very crucial tool for good land use methods such as agroforestry.

Ethnobotany offers various types of measures for getting measurable data to identify plants values that are cultural in a certain sociological setting. Previous studies by Benjamin and Blum (2015) have shown that some communities tend to conserve tree species that are culturally important to them. This in turn affects their agroforestry practices as it governs the types of trees grown on the farms. Whether farmers consider certain plants to be culturally significant or not is dependent on ecological appetency. This hypothesis has previously been adopted in ethnobotanical studies by such researchers as Gentry and Phillips (Jacobi & Altieri, 2017, p. 38). The researchers suggested that the most accessible and typical tree species are the ones that are mostly valued and used (Martínez-García, Dorward, & Rehman, 2016, p.12). Factors influencing. In addition, the exclusivity, intensity, and standard of the usage of plants should also be considered. This is usually combined with semi-structured questionnaires that major on comprehensive information about plants including the theoretical perspective. Studying the cultural significance of plants enables researchers to obtain reliable outcomes as compared to the application of singular methods. Moreover, it provides great insights on how knowledge is transmitted among farmers (Jacobi & Altieri, 2017, p. 40).

An improved understanding of intracultural differences in the information about plants and the analysis helps in the improvement of agroforestry systems. This in turn raises the social economic benefits for both subsistence and commercial sectors such as the production of fruits, fodder, fuel and environmental factors in agro-pastoral regions (mainly carbon sequestration, biodiversity and soil conservation). In the Bolivian highlands, agroforestry has been practised for long even before the Spanish arrived back in the 1930s. However, studies conducted in Bolivia have revealed that the current agroforestry systems rarely involve the cultivation of indigenous woody tree species such as Schinus molle, Buddleja spp and Alnus acuminate (Zerihun et al., 2014, p. 2). Currently, the farmers in Bolivia opt for the exotic tree species such as Eucalyptus which they consider to be more productive. Additionally, small scale farmers also prefer to implement land use systems that are profitable in the short run rather than in the long run. To help change this undesirable trend, scientists and conscious locals have recommended the need for educating people on the cultural significance of the indigenous tree species and motivate the farmers to maintain the woody species on their farms and also grow more of those desirable species.

Scientific intervention on the intracultural differences such as economic valuation can help in the optimisation of agroforestry management. A good example is carrying out a valuation that targets a certain gender in Bolivia since both men and women play important but varied and harmonizing roles in agro pastoral production and lifestyles (Jacobi, J., Mathez-Stiefel, Gambon, Rist, & Altieri, 2017, p.41). Females are mostly entitled to child care, domestic work, seed conservation, and the collection of firewood. Males are expected to carry out construction of buildings, soil management, provisional off-farm labour, and fabrication of tools. The aforementioned gender roles determine the social groups used by the farmers for communication and participation thereby sharing knowledge and experience on such matters as agroforestry (Benjamin & Blum, 2015). The social groups are also used to share information about the uses of plants and their cultural significance thereby alter the agroforestry patterns.

Age is also another determinant of the adoption of agroforestry practices since the acceptance of the underlying knowledge and appreciation of the cultural significance of plants are dynamic values. Young people tend to ignore the cultural values while appreciating the scientific proven knowledge about the importance of certain plants and why they should be included in a farm. Younger people are also keener on the economic benefit of a certain land use practice as compared to the older generation (Jacobi & Altieri, 2017, p. 38). The older generation tends to appreciate and embrace the cultural values more than the scientific information. This information can be used to target certain groups and encourage them to adopt agroforestry practices in an effective manner. These parameters change as time goes by and are different across generations. This is due to the gradual changes in how people make use or even stop to use certain plants as the living conditions change.

Migration in such areas as Bolivia has been following the rural to urban trend which affects the livelihoods in the rural areas where agroforestry is practised. Educated young people usually move to urban areas hoping they will get higher incomes and improved services such as infrastructure, healthcare, and even education (Jacobi et al., 2017, p.41).. These trends have been found to increase the gap in plant and agroforestry knowledge and the economic benefits (Martínez-García et al., 2016, p.14). The youth fail to get the traditional knowledge while the older people miss the opportunity to learn about the current scientific proof that supports agroforestry.

Biophysical Characteristics and Agroforestry

Natural possessions remain apprehended then used through various parts that involves farming and planting trees scheme the speed and range in which they are used is determined by intensity of interfaces involving various constituents. This inclusive effectuation relations is commonly dogged through sway among trees among components or in the entire system, it is also conveyed with respect to bulky comments of the soil variations, pest and disease prevalence, microclimate variation, resource such as water availability and consumption, and allopathy. In major simultaneous research analyses expressions of natural connections such as hedgerow intercropping and sequential (e.g., planting trees on harrows) agroforestry structures (Brandt, Mathez-Stiefel, Lachmuth, Hensen, & Rist, 2013, p.12). For that reason biophysical possessions tend to upset agroforestry practices by determining the type of plants which can be grown in a given area and which cannot such as Bolivia therefore it’s a determinant of whether indigenous farmers will be eager to adopt the practice or not.

In windbreak intercropping, relationship among trees are determined according to the soil nutrient, enhancement also by struggle among growth resources. They are observed mainly rich and nutritious loam available at tropical also sub humid areas, also brought around by enormous richness development in accordance with the grades of competition that is in higher crop yield than in sole cropping. Yield upsurges are rare in infertile acid soils and semiarid tropics because fertility enhancement doesn't offset a very enormous economical effectuation by hedges per gathers intended for nutrients plus water. However beneath the covers the dispersed vegetation available hot climates, deep covering brought about through huge, perennial plantings interferes with produces negatively but microclimate and high soil nutrition influences crops produces in a positive way (Meijer, Catacutan, Ajayi, Sileshi, Nieuwenhuis, 2015, p. 27). Plants around borderline copes through yields aiming at below also above pounded resources, and those below by encompassing their leaves. Biophysical connections in upgraded planted fallows are due to soil yields in the subsequent cropping phase, nitrogen status and abridged quantity of weeds in the fallow segment, and increased crop produces. Lack of direct tree–crop interactions the negative complications of competition and microclimate alteration are avoided. It has been found that agroforestry offers many economic benefits from increasing the incomes smallholder farmers, improve rural development, and improved living conditions for both rural women and children (Brandt et al., 2013, p.12)..