Agroforestry Options in Northwest Vietnam

Summary in the original language of the document

The mountainous northwest of Vietnam is home for the majority of the country’s ethnic minorities. Poverty and food insecurity are common in the region, increasing population and land scarcity have induced the expansion of agricultural areas and consequent decline of land productivity due to soil erosion and land degradation. Local farmers have begun to practice agroforestry through the introduction of high value trees into traditional cropping systems with various combinations of timber, fruit, nut forage trees and annual crops. However, because of inherent production risks and many remaining uncertainties, assessing the long-term performance of agroforestry has remained challenging. We simulated prospective system benefits of agroforestry options by developing comprehensive and holistic models that aimed to explicitly consider all relevant risks and uncertainties. The initial findings reveal model components such as drought and frost and potential extreme weather events as the primary risks to agroforestry in the region. The analysis approach is a promising tool for ex-ante assessments of other planned interventions.