Study of Poplar and Bamboo based Agroforestry System

Food insecurity and poverty have been affecting the livelihood of the rural poor since ages. It is posing a major challenge to the sustainable development of a developing country like India. In such countries, land and soil degradation has emerged as an offshoot of excessive population pressure over the limited resources. Agricultural production in the developing countries has seldom matched the needs of the people. Agro forestry has the potential to arrest land degradation and improve site productivity through interaction with trees, soil, crops and livestock. Agro forestry is also a potential option for improving rural livelihood and enhancing integrated management of the natural resource base. Agro forestry systems can play an important role in carbon mitigation programmes through carbon sequestration and can reduce the pressure on existing natural forests by providing fuel, fodder, timber and wood products to the farmers. The current interest in agro forestry in India has transformed the land-use system in terms of economic sustainability. This article briefly reviews about the concept of Poplar and Bamboo based agro forestry systems as adopted extensively by the farmers on a commercial and environmental conservation scale. These systems play a significant role to meet the economic, social and environmental concerns of the villagers.