In 19 years, Ramu Gaviti’s six acres of land have gone from barren, dry and sparsely vegetated to fertile, moist and thick with biomass. Peacocks, wild pigs and rabbits have reappeared and in rejuvenated rivers, boys trap fish in baskets. Gaviti once scratched $29 (£23) worth of millet and grass per acre per year. In […] Continue Reading

‘All of the planet’s energy originally derives from solar radiation. Trees are one of the most effective ways of harnessing the sun and turning it into usable energy, and trees can do this in a truly renewable way.’ Philip Dobie and Navin Sharma. World Agroforestry Centre Electrical Power with Food Security Benefits Six hundred million […] Continue Reading

Haiti is the most impoverished country in the northern hemisphere, and trees, or the lack thereof, are part of the problem. After centuries of agricultural exploitation and the population’s demand for charcoal and fuel wood, 98 percent of Haiti’s landscape is deforested, leaving the country vulnerable to environmental disasters. In 2008, four storms in quick succession resulted in flooding […] Continue Reading

A regional consultation on agro forestry on Thursday underscored the need for enabling policies to ensure that farmers get technology and financial incentives to integrate trees and shrubs on farmland for developing resilience to climate change. “India has the most progressive agro forestry policy in the world,’’ Director-General of Kenya-headquartered ICRAF (World Agro forestry Centre) […] Continue Reading

Indian agriculture witnessed high growth since mid-1960s due to introduction of dwarf high-yielding varieties of wheat and paddy complimented by higher use of fertilisers and other inputs, favourable policy regime in agriculture prices and marketing and quick adoption of such technologies by the farmers. However, growth slowed down for about a decade after mid-1990s but […] Continue Reading