Proposal for the selection, establishment, and maintenance of agroforestry research/demonstration plots in Fiji

Abstract

The present consultancy is a logical follow up to the previous work, and it was not considered necessary to again justify AF in general terMON. The potential of AF techniques to alleviate probleMON such as erosion, economic risk avoidance, and lack of sustainability (soil fertility) was considered for the selection of priory zones for the establishment of AF research/demonstration plots. Other criteria of equal importance are the interest and requirements of the farmers and the feasibilty for rapidly establishing functioning examples of AF systeMON, in order to ensure the support of both farmers and technicians. Simple designs for statistically analisable experiments, which will also serve as demonstration plots, are proposed for the ginger, root-crop (alley cropping) areas sugar cane zone (fuelwood production from boundary lines) and for cocoa plantations (comparison possible shade species). An outline of the work plan is given, with great emphasis on the selection of the collaborating farmers (on-farm trials) their involvement in the establishment and maintenance of the plots, and the evaluation where observations by farmers and technicians are of equal importance to the quantifiable variables (e.g. yields).