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Agroforestry: A solution to farming’s biggest problems?

DW Planet A

900,337 views

Agriculture takes a huge toll on the earth’s environment by producing massive CO2 emissions and taking up a lot of land. But there is a way to make it more sustainable: Agroforestry. And it has been around for thousands of years - we just forgot about it.

We're destroying our environment at an alarming rate. But it doesn't need to be this way. Our channel Planet A explores the shift towards an eco-friendly world — and challenges our ideas about what dealing with climate change means. We look at the big and the small: What we can do and how the system needs to change. Every Friday we'll take a truly global look at how to get us out of this mess.

READ MORE:

CO2 sequestration potential of agroforestry: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...

Environmental impacts of food production:
https://ourworldindata.org/environmen...

History of agroforestry: https://www.britannica.com/science/ag..., https://www.researchgate.net/publicat...

Extent of agroforestry in the EU: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...

Deep dive into agroforestry: https://worldagroforestry.org/
► Check out our channel trailer: Planet A | The only one

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#PlanetA #Agroforestry #SustainableAgriculture

Reporter: Kai Steinecke (IG: Instagram: supersteinii)
Camera & video editor: Henning Goll, Andreas Hyronimus
Supervising editor: Kiyo Dörrer

20 Comments

@DWPlanetA Creator 5 years ago Pinned

Do you think agroforestry would be a good solution in your region as well?

@TheVishnuvijayakumar 5 years ago (edited)

One important point missed is agro forestry increases the water table underground and prevents flooding and rainfall pattern stabilises from sudden cloud bursts to drizzling rain so the soil with help of trees gets time to absorb the water and prevents floods and inturn draughts in the summer which is experienced in tropical countries

@kowenkatsufumi 5 years ago

This is common practice with smallholder farmers in Indonesia as shade crops. Great to see this being explored for implementation in big-scale industrial farming

@santiagogonzalez-eu6dv 5 years ago

Agro-Forestry is part of the regenerative agroculture... It's amazing to hear how farmers that implemented these practices could transform their lands, and how they can produce cheaper food in a more environment friendly way

@rystrck1967 5 years ago

We do this here in central MN. It’s always been seen as the norm you don’t see a lot of completely cleared fields. Large industrial farming is super problematic. You need balance.

@stevereed2472 5 years ago

I really appreciate the realistic presentation, talking about the up and down sides. Real-world applications. I've done this with chickens, and its a real obvious tactic in raising chickens and ducks

@MuYangWWM 5 years ago

My mom's village is located in a jungle, so naturally their farms have a similar style farm like this.. free range chickens running smock between the bamboo trees. Problem is, the family wants to cook us city folks a big dinner.. took them 3 days to actually find the chicken. they run so fast lol

@gabrielgiordan 5 years ago

Ernst Götsch applied an even better concept called syntropic agriculture: he's a Swiss who came to Brazil in 1980 and since then applied it to our lands. His concepts are fascinating, do some searches to find out the amazing things this man did.

@ilonggong_bulakenyo6733 5 years ago

Proud Agroforestry Instructor/faculty here in the Philippines.

@OrthosOikonomia 3 years ago

I utilize Agroforestry, Permaculture gardening, Aquaculture with my ponds, and rotating grazing with multi species and incorporate all of it together symbiotic in a way. Part of the rotation is in the forest, ducks rotate ponds go in gardens to get snails and slugs and in orchard, manure goes compost for garden, etc

@briananderson2219 5 years ago

It was fun about 6 1/2 minutes in watching the younger fella try to keep up with the older guy moving the soil. That older gentleman is probably tougher than nails

@supercars_worldwide570 5 years ago

I like how they keep giving names or new names to systems that have been there and happening naturally for thousands of years

@KitChesh 4 years ago

Im going to be doing something similar on a small scale (1.25 to 1.5 acres); building a micro-biome in the form of a botanical orchard and garden. These videos always help add lines of thought to my planning process.

@wolverinequeen 5 years ago

I do this on my property. I have my crops, my chickens and trees. The soil is better through the years now. It used to be pretty poor quality

@jamesrichey 3 years ago

The farmer does not use regenerative agriculture. He is basically farming on dead soil.

@joshuafernandes6684 5 years ago

Here in Brasil, Agroforestry is start being used in some live-stock farms. It's search by the Embrapa, a public company of agriculture.

@appleslover 5 years ago

I know there are a lot of different German dialects across Germany, Austria and Switzerland but I find this (the presenter's) German English accent very cute 😍

@futtermanfarms6791 5 years ago

Have you considered fruit or nut trees for your tree lines?
Also have you considered cover crops? Especially to plant your trees into? for better soil and add nitrogen with legumes and save having to hoe and added food for hens? I see you planted wild flowers but how about before you plant trees, not just a year later?
And for all your crop land cover crop / regenerative methods?

@sumanneupane6546 5 years ago (edited)

I was about to say it not modern but ancient technique of farming. It is being done in many poorer states or countries now too. This technique helps in providing portfolio of agricultural products for those small farmers.

@goneutt 5 years ago

Oklahoma soil conservation districts have gotten ahead of this. Lots of fields that were plowed under have been returned to trees, and they field cows amongst them.