A cultural and behavioural change to the role trees play on farms is needed, a conference on agroforestry has heard.
Up to 200 people attended the first day of the International Agroforestry Conference in the Westlodge Hotel, Bantry, Co. Cork today (Thursday, November 16).
Agroforestry, which is part of the government’s Afforestation Scheme, is the integration of trees with either crops or livestock on the same land.
The system gives land owners the flexibility to graze and cut silage and hay while growing trees for timber in the same field.
Under the new Forestry Programme farmers can avail of enhanced tax-free agroforestry payments of €8,555/ha for silvopasture systems, which involves a combination of trees and grass.
The higher premium rate of €975/ha will now be paid to farmers for 10 years, instead of five years under the previous programme.
A minimum of 400 trees/ha is required to be planted in order to be eligible for payment.
Land classified as agroforestry is eligible for payments under the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS), along with the Basic Income for Sustainability Support (BISS) and the Complementary Redistributive Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS).
The department is also running pilot schemes for silvoarable systems (trees and crops) and forest gardening which offer grant aid of €6,000 and premiums of €829/ha.
Director of the Irish Agroforestry Forum, Jim McAdam, an early pioneer of the practice in Northern Ireland, told the conference that agroforestry can give increased climate resilience to farming and forestry systems.
Along with sequestering more carbon than grassland alone, he said that agroforestry can help deliver carbon neutral livestock systems, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, improve soil health, enhance biodiversity, provide flooding mitigation and protect water quality.
“We know and we’ve proven that from the research we’ve done that trees increase the permeability of water through the soil so you don’t get flash floods, you get the water filtering away. They hold moisture in the soil as well when it is dry,” McAdam told Agriland.
“It’s getting those benefits of the trees into the farm without significantly diminishing the productivity of the farm,” he added.
McAdam believes that agroforestry has the potential to bridge the gap between agriculture and forestry, while helping to address climate issues.
However, he noted that a wider acceptance around the role of trees on farms is needed.
“Agroforestry we do now feel has come of age to be a viable option that farmers can build, not convert their whole farms in any way, but put some agroforestry onto their farms to help address some of these challenges that we’re facing,” he said.
The conference heard that agroforestry can provide the following benefits for farmers:
- Renewable energy/biofuel;
- Improved animal welfare;
- Potential for high quality timber production;
- Sustainable food production with lower inputs;
- Improved biodiversity;
- Water protection;
- Enhanced landscapes and working environment.
The two-day conference, the first of its kind in Ireland, continues tomorrow with delegates visiting local farms to see agroforestry systems.