“Trees have an important role to play not only in climate change mitigation but also in reducing vulnerability to climate-related risks”, stated Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai.

Agroforestry is one of economical Viable, ecologically sustainable and productive and need of the present context. It is neither new nor unique. A few hundred years ago Indian farmers practised agroforestry very successfully, making us a rich nation that everyone wanted to trade with. Agroforestry, a science that promoted polyculture with a variety of trees, crops, kept soil fertile and allowed economics and ecology to benefit from each other in complementary ways. ‘Sustainability’ was a way of life. If we bring back this practice to our farmers, we can spark a new revolution in the agricultural sector.

Caritas India under Building resilient livelihood for communities in Koshi and Ganges flood plains project is bringing back Agroforestry approach in Bihar. 15 farmers of Koshi flood plains initiated the process of polyculture and cultivated seasonal crops with fast-growing timber trees and fruit tree. The trees were planted with a distance of 5ft’, for easily ploughing, and harvesting in farms. Framers planted forest wood (Mogahini) and mango plants, these plants will take 05 to 06 years to provide fruits and timber wood, meanwhile, they can be easily cultivated with wheat, pulses and other crops. There is a huge domestic market for agroforestry product especially timber production. By planting high-value trees on a portion of their farmland along with their existing crop, farmers will have a profitable additional source of income.

Under the on-farm livelihood support in the project, these farmers were trained by KVK Raghopur, Supaul, and with support of MDSSS. Farmers planted 30 Mogahini and 15 Mango Plants in 40 decimals of plots with seasonal crops. Farmers were exposed to the KVK field where they learned the approach and then the same was replicated in the region.

Since Koshi Region is a flood-prone and crop production is uncertain, the KVK suggested farmers to use resilient verities of seeds, Kitchen garden and through Agroforestry, they will have a profitable additional source of income. With the population growth, the land-holding sizes are reducing and putting a lot of pressure on agriculture. Agroforestry is one of the ways of making use of land for maximum returns to ensure socio-economic development. One of the major potential benefits of on-farm trees under agroforestry is the ability to replenish nutrient-depleted soil and secondly, it will keep the soil fertile and will benefit the ecology.

This approach not only mitigates farmers risk but also guarantee additional income. These trees will repay farmers in future as fixed deposit and will reduce dependence on high-interest loans that they usually take to meet investment in agriculture.

There are some remarkable achievements in terms of reviving indigenous food system and agricultural practices which are in alignment with nature. This fight against climate change can only be possible with the support of community’s active participation and support.