Agroforestry: Enhancing Farm Tree Diversity and its Role in Rural Livelihoods

Abstract

Agroforestry represents a land use strategy grounded in ecological principles, offering benefits such as increased crop yields, consistent financial returns, and broader agricultural diversification. This study was conducted in Makawanpurgadhi rural municipality, from Makawanpur district, Nepal, which aimed to evaluate various agroforestry systems, the diversity of farm trees, and their impact on rural income. Field observation, interviews with key informants, and questionnaire survey were employed to augment socio-economic information, with a randomly selected sample of 106 households (i.e. Landowners). Farm tree diversity was assessed using the Shannon Wiener Diversity Index. The study identified five important agroforestry systems: homegarden, silvi-pasture, agrisilviculture, silvofisheries, and agrisilvihorticulture. The Silvi-pasture system reported as a promising agroforestry approach demonstrating greater species richness and diversity of farm tree compared to homegarden and agrisilvihorticulture. Moreover, agroforestry systems contributed significantly to household income, with 36.92% (NRs. 25,700 or USD 193 per household per year) attributed to agriculture and 28.88% (NRs. 16,900 or USD 127 per household per year) to livestock raring. It is recommended that agroforestry systems have a great deal of potential to conserve biodiversity and enhance rural livelihoods.