Economic Advisory Council to the PM (EAC-PM) highlights the untapped potential of agroforestry in India.

• Agroforestry is a collective name for land-use systems and technologies where woody perennials (trees, shrubs, palms, bamboo, etc.) are deliberately used on the same land management units as crops and/or animals.
• Only 17% of total agricultural land is under agroforestry (defined as tree cover per cent greater than 10% of total agricultural land) which is lower than global average of 43%.

Significance

• Transforming Farmers’ livelihood: Increasing farmers’ income with high-value trees like Teak.
• Primary source of Timber and other resources: Agroforestry provides about 65% of small timber, 70-80% of wood for furniture and construction, about 60% of raw material for paper and pulp etc.
• Improving Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) content: Improving crop yields, carbon sequestration and water use efficiency. 

Challenges

• Conservation-First Policy Approach has discouraged or prohibited tree felling, leading to declining timber production. 
  • E.g. National Forest Policy of 1988 and Godavarman Case (1996) restricted tree felling leading to a four-fold increase in imports (1996-2022) (FAO).
• Complex procedure to obtain felling and transit permits discourages agroforestry adoption.
• Underutilization of National Transit Pass System (NTPS) for transportation of timber, bamboo, and other forest products.
• Import dependency: India imported $2.7 billion worth timber (ITTO, 2023).