Acacia nilotica trees in rice fields : A traditional agroforestry system in central India

• Published in: Agroforestry systems Vol. 50; no. 2; pp. 157 - 177
• Main Authors: VISWANATH, S, NAIR, P. K. R, KAUSHIK, P. K, PRAKASAM, U
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer 01-11-2000; M. Nijhoff/Dr. W. Junk; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acacia nilotica; Agricultural development. Rural area planning; Agricultural economics; Agriculture; Agroforestry; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Biological and medical sciences; Farm income; Farmers; Farms; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agroecology. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development. Rural area planning. Landscaping; General agronomy. Plant production; Generalities. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development; Land use; Monoculture; Oryza sativa; Rice fields; Small farms; Trees; Asia; Madhya Pradesh; India; India, Madhya Pradesh; Monocotyledones; Traditional farming; Tropical zone; Functional analysis; Sustainable development; Cereal crop; Land use; Agroecosystem; Oryza sativa; Leguminosae; Gramineae; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Hardwood forest tree; Spermatophyta; Acacia nilotica; Economic aspect; Yield component; Agroforestry
• DOI: 10.1023/A:1006486912126
• EISSN: 1572-9680
• ISSN: 0167-4366

Time-tested, indigenous land-use systems can provide valuable information for the design of ecologically sustainable and socially acceptable agroforestry systems. One such traditional system is the growing of Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd. Ex Delile trees, locally known as babul, in rice fields of smallholder farmers in Madhya Pradesh State of Central India, an area with subhumid monsoon climate and hot summer. The functional characteristics of the system were collected through participatory rural appraisal involving intensive interactions with farmers in the region during six years, and through a structured-questionnaire survey in 25 villages, involving a total of 200 farm families. The farms had an average of 20 babul trees, ranging in age from <1 to 12 years, per hectare in upland rice fields, the tree-stand density being greater on smaller than on larger farms (>8 ha). Over a ten year rotation period, the trees provide a variety of products such as fuelwood (30 kg/tree), brushwood for fencing (4 kg/tree), small timber for farm implements and furniture (0.2 cu.m), and non-timber products such as gum and seeds. The babul + rice system was estimated to have a benefit/cost (B/C) ratio of 1.47 and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 33% at 12% annual discount rate during a ten-year period, though at a low level of income. Babul trees account for nearly 10% of the annual farm income of smallholder farmers (<2 ha). By practising the agroforestry (rice + babul) system, farmers get higher cash returns on a short-term (10-year) harvest cycle of trees, and the labour input (both family- and hired) on farms was distributed more uniformly throughout the year than in rice monoculture. Purchased inputs are seldom used in the system. The ease of management of the system, the self-generating and robust nature of the tree and the multiple products and services it provides, and easy marketability of the products are the major factors that encourage farmers to adopt the system. Furthermore, the farmers have secure ownership rights to their land, so that they are interested in long-term measures such as tree plantings on their farms. In spite of its long history and tradition as a sustainable approach to land use, the system has not attracted the attention of development agencies. More detailed investigations on its social, economic, and cultural attributes are warranted to not only improve this system, but provide insights into farmer adoption of agroforestry innovations.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]