"Here we have a country with 16 percent of the world’s population, 20 percent of the world’s livestock on only two percent of the world’s land and using four percent of the world’s fresh water, so we have got a problem there of sustainability," said Simons.
In India, like many other countries, more and more forests and even agricultural land are being lost to development.
"Trees are being cut, forests are being removed and the land is becoming barren. The target in India, for example, was that there should be 33 percent vegetation cover on the land," said World Agroforestry Center South Asia Director Virender Pal Singh.
He added, "there are states like Punjab and Haryana where the forest land is not 33 percent so how are we going to meet it? That can be met only when you bring the trees on the farm."
With agroforestry, farmers plant trees without affecting the growth of crops, such as wheat and sugarcane. Singh said the plants actually benefitted from improved soil fertility and water retention.
"We are getting stable productivity, a cleaner environment, increasing income, so our feeling in the country is that agroforestry is probably the only way for meeting the economic and livelihood challenges, as well as addressing the challenges of climate change," he said.
On a hot summer day like this one, farmer Chaudhry Rajender Singh feels the benefits of the microclimate his trees help create - as a cool breeze cuts through the humid air.
最新
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25