Economic evaluation of financial and non-financial costs and benefits in agroforestry development and the value of sustainability

The central agroforestry hypothesis: the trees must acquire resources that the crop would not otherwise acquire

“…But if the problem is to identify those circumstances in which growing trees and crops together can yield more biomass than growing crops alone, then it is more logical to think in terms of the physical resources of water, light and nutrients that are acquired or 'captured' by the trees and crops, regardless of the 'system' (Monteith et al, 1994). Although Price (1995) indicated a number of specific situations where agroforestry can give greater economic benefits than either a sole-crop or a sole-tree system in the absence of any biophysical yield increase, such situations are the exception rather than the rule and biophysical yield benefits are a good starting point for a more complete economic evaluation.…”

Agroforestry a pathway to climate smart agribusiness: Lessons to smallholder farmers

“…Concerning marketing risk, agroforestry is more stable in the face of global market volatility than annual monocultures. The advantages of diversi cation in the face of market risks may be achieved by mixing enterprises on a coarse scale as well as by adopting a single enterprise that embodies intimately mixed components (Price, 1995). In West Africa, diversifying agroecosystems with integrated approaches such as agroforestry improves resilience to climate-related risks (Sinare and Gordon, 2015).…”