Agroforestry to Boost as Government Looks to Increase Farmers Income

With a host of reforms being brought by the Union Government on Agriculture, the focus has also shifted to its allied sectors like bee farming, fisheries, seaweed farming that are being implemented across the nation to bring additional income to the farmers. One of these sectors is agroforestry that is now being promoted by the government.

The National Agroforestry Policy

India was the first nation to adopt an agroforestry policy when it hosted the World Congress on Agroforestry in Delhi. The National Agroforestry Policy was launched after a lot of problems were discovered in the absence of a dedicated and focused national policy on dealing with the same.

Sanjay Agarwal, Secretary, Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers Welfare said the recently announced reforms like the Farming Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance 2020 will help to establish a national framework where the farmers will have the option of deciding the market in which he wants to sell his crops.

He added that Agroforestry has beneficial for not only earning additional income but also can help groups like women Self Help Groups and can help in the reduction of fertilizers, leguminous species, carbon sequestration that can help fight climate change.

It is the first webinar of what is a full-fledged series with speakers such as Dr. JLN Sastry, Chief Executive Officer, National Medicinal Plant Board, Rohit Pandit, Secretary-General Indian Papers Manufacturers Association and Ranjit Ranjan Okhandiar, Chief Executive Officer and Member Secretary, Central Silk Board.

The Central Silk Board has also assured the farmers that assistance will be provided to them if they started planting silk host species which take the time of 3-4 years before they start giving returns.

The Sub Mission for Agroforestry was launched as a followup to the National Agroforestry Policy in 2015 to assist the states in encouraging farmers to stat planting tree crops. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR) has over 30 institutes under its umbrella that are involved in agroforestry that is coordinated by the National Research Centre for Agroforestry(NRCAF) that aim to provide a connection between the cultivator and the market to make a more efficient supply chain.