A land-use system that deliberately integrates trees or shrubs with crops and/or livestock on the same land is called:

Agroforestry (agro forest) is a land-use system in which trees or shrubs are deliberately grown together with agricultural crops and/or livestock on the same piece of land, either at the same time or in a sequence. It combines the benefits of agriculture and forestry.

Main types of agroforestry systems:

• Agri-silviculture: trees grown with crops, for example, poplar with wheat in Punjab and Haryana, or teak with crops.
• Silvi-pasture: trees combined with grasses and livestock grazing.
• Agri-silvi-pasture: trees, crops and livestock together.
• Agri-horticulture: fruit trees grown with field crops, such as mango or guava with pulses.
• Home gardens: multi-storey gardens around homes with coconut, areca nut, fruit trees, spices and vegetables, common in Kerala.
• Boundary planting and windbreaks: trees planted along field boundaries or to protect crops from wind.
• The taungya system, farm forestry and alley cropping are also forms of agroforestry.

Benefits of agroforestry:

• Diversified income from timber, fruit, fodder, fuelwood and crops, reducing risk for farmers.
• Improved soil fertility, as tree leaves add organic matter and some trees (such as nitrogen-fixing species like Leucaena, Sesbania and Gliricidia) enrich the soil.
• Reduced soil erosion and better water infiltration.
• Increased tree cover outside forests, helping to absorb carbon dioxide and fight climate change.
• Supply of fodder and fuelwood, reducing pressure on natural forests.

Agroforestry in India:

• India became the first country in the world to adopt a National Agroforestry Policy, in February 2014.
• The ICAR-Central Agroforestry Research Institute (CAFRI) is located in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh.
• Internationally, the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.

Traditional systems:

Many traditional farming systems in India, such as the khejri-based farming of Rajasthan, the home gardens of Kerala and the Zabo system of Nagaland, are examples of agroforestry.

Why not the other options?

• ✗A monoculture plantation grows a single tree species, without crops or livestock.
• ✗Shifting cultivation clears forest for crops for a few years and then moves on.
• ✗Truck farming is the commercial growing of vegetables for distant markets.