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Assam to harness their potential for agroforestry

BNE News Desk


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Guwahati: Industry players and Assam Forest Department officials have agreed to form a partnership to help harness the potential of agroforestry for the greater good of Assam and its communities.

Agroforestry has the potential to improve rural livelihoods by providing a variety of food, fodder, and tree products, which can increase food and nutrition security, generate income, and alleviate poverty in Assam.

Recognizing the importance and role of agroforestry in promoting sustainable development of the state's most vulnerable communities, Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma introduced a cabinet memorandum and notified the establishment of the Assam Agroforestry Development Board in December 2021.

The workshop today was organised by the Assam Project on Forest and Biodiversity Conservation (APFBC) Society and the Assam Agroforestry Development Board to better understand the needs and challenges that forest-fringe communities and industry players face when implementing and scaling up Agroforestry practises in the state.

The state's first-of-its-kind multi-stakeholder consultation workshop on Agroforestry was held in Guwahati on Friday, as part of the government's priority of building sustainable livelihoods for forest-fringe communities, achieving the national goal of 33% tree cover, mitigating climate change, and delivering on the SDGs.

"Agroforestry can provide a diverse range of environmental goods and services that are consistent with the state's long-term conservation planning." "Enabling local level replication of successful models would provide opportunities to integrate productivity and profitability with environmental stewardship and improve the well-being of our local communities," said Chandra Mohan Patowary, minister of environment and forest.

"Convergence between the forestry and agriculture sectors would aid in effectively translating the objectives mentioned in India's National Agroforestry Policy into action," he added.

The consultation workshop brought together key stakeholders in the Agroforestry sector, including the government, major industry players, forest-fringe villagers, and financial institutions, to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and best practises.

Major industry participants included ITC, Orient Paper Mills, and Greenply, as well as representatives of Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs), financial institutions such as NABARD and Dr. Chandrashekhar M. Biradar, Country Director (India) and Chief of Party - TOFI, The Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), and several NGOs. The workshop identified solutions as well as successful agroforestry models that could be replicated in Assam.

"The workshop was a fantastic initiative." Investments in forestry-agroforestry are increasing as the need for nourishment, carbon neutrality/-ve, wellbeing, climate-friendly, environmentally sustainable, and economically profitable grows.

Scaling up Agroforestry practises in Assam can yield 8-13 times more profit than conventional agriculture while providing peace of mind and contentment with actions," said Dr. Chandrashekhar M. Biradar, Country Director (India) and Chief of Party - TOFI, The Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).

"The workshop provided an excellent exchange platform." Industries, as end-users, play an important role in the promotion of agroforestry products, the development of the value chain and technology, and the establishment of market links. We can solve the challenges and increase productivity and profitability in the sector by working together," said Mr. J. K. Jain, Vice President, Greenply Industries.

The workshop primarily focused on understanding the industry perspective on the development of agroforestry in the state, with a special emphasis on high-value products such as medicinal plants; ii) areas that would be required to promote the agroforestry sector, with an emphasis on financing and technology up-gradation, and various agroforestry models in Assam; and iii) existing supply chain challenges, community-led best practices, and innovative market linkage options.

"We are grateful for the opportunity to participate in the multistakeholder consultation workshop." This workshop established a foundation for us to play an important role in food production and value chains. "Agroforestry will improve our empowerment, participation, and rights to economic and natural resources," said Madhusmita Rabha, representing the Nagaon Joint Forest Management Committee (Kamrup West Division).

Madhusmita and her community create bamboo jewellery.

"As agriculture is the state's mainstay, one of the government's major focus areas is to stimulate growth in the rural economy." As a result, investment in agriculture and allied sectors, including agroforestry, will help Assam achieve its "vision" of doubling farm income and paving the way for rural empowerment in the near future," Dr. Sonali Ghosh, CEO of the Assam Agroforestry Development Board, said, adding that work on implementing agroforestry models in the state would begin soon.

BNE News Desk