THE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF AGROFORESTRY TO FARMERS

Deforestation, growing scarcity of tree products, and environmental de gradation have created serious problems for rural land use in many dev eloping countries. Agroforestry, a system in which woody perennials ar e grown on the same land as agricultural crops or livestock, has been increasingly enlisted in the campaign to meet these threats to the rur al economy. Case studies of twenty-one agroforestry projects in six Ce ntral American and two Caribbean countries formed the empirical basis for the study described in this article. A focal point of analysis was the profitability of agroforestry for farmers as a crucial incentive to adoption. The findings indicate that many agroforestry practices ar e profitable under a broad range of conditions and are therefore likel y to be widely applicable. Successful projects have worked with local communities, responding to local needs and preferences and offering fa rmers a broad basket of species and systems from which to choose. Demo nstration plots and the use of paratechnicians have been low-cost and effective means of technology transfer, and applied research has been important in identifying techniques and practices suited to the region . Other findings have identified government regulation of tree harvest ing and insecurity of tenure-though not lack of title in itself-as dis incentives to adoption.