TREES FOR LIFE – Creating a more prosperous future through agroforestry

Trees for Life takes the reader on a journey through the world of agroforestry: from the home gardens in Borneo to the well-wooded cattle pastures of Nicaragua; from the sand-swept parklands of Niger to the cocoa gardens of West Africa; from the palmeries of Amazonia to dairy farms that cling to the fl anks of Africa’s Rift Valley.
Agroforestry – the practice of growing trees on farms – provides a living for a sixth of humanity, and nearly all of us use and consume some of its goods and services. Ever-increasing numbers of farmers are planting trees to increase soil fertility and crop yields, restore degraded soils, sequester carbon and reduce erosion. Trees on farms provide a wide range of goods: from cash crops like coffee to vitamin-rich fruits; from animal fodder to fuelwood; from resins to medicines. For millions of people, agroforestry provides a signifi cant source of income and a pathway to prosperity. This is their story.