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Dynamic agroforestry - A method without a recipe

Naturefund has taken up the great challenge of turning the interandean dry valleys of Cochabamba (Bolivia) into "edible forests".

Reforestation with an innovative method

In order for this project to be realised, the organisation initiated an exciting pilot project in September of 2014, entitled: "Improving the living conditions of smallholders in the semiarid valley of Cochabamba". The project partners here are AGRECOL-Andes and the agroforestry network ECOSAF. The forests are to be grown using an innovative method. The name of this new method: dynamic agroforestry (Spanish: Agroforesteria dínamica; AD for short). It is also known as "successional agroforestry" or "multilayer agroforestry". This method was selected because it offers many advantages over traditional cultivation methods, not just from an economic and socio-cultural perspective, but also in terms of being very easy on the environment.

In comparison with traditional methods, with AD there is no one specific method on how exactly to apply and use it. This is because AD is based on a concept of emulating nature's dynamism, with local forests serving as a model. Read the complete article 2