1 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:11,140 (Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Welcome to Mind the Globe, the podcast where we dive into some of today's most pressing global challenges. 2 00:00:11,900 --> 00:00:21,180 We are a team of seven international students from the Junior Research Lab at Institut Agro in Montpellier, here to explore the issues that shape our world and our future. 3 00:00:29,830 --> 00:00:35,010 Hello and welcome to Mind the Globe, a podcast from seven international students from Institut Agro in Montpellier. 4 00:00:35,790 --> 00:00:41,790 In this episode, it's me, Anna, and I'd like to introduce you to agroforestry, a promising strategy to cope with global challenges. 5 00:00:42,850 --> 00:00:45,790 For this, I had the pleasure to talk to Dr. Marie Gomes. 6 00:00:46,470 --> 00:00:48,050 So hello, I'm Marie Gomes. 7 00:00:48,350 --> 00:00:56,930 I'm a researcher at INRAE, the French National Institute for Agronomical and Environmental Research, and I'm an agronomist. 8 00:00:57,330 --> 00:01:17,470 So I studied agronomy and then I did a PhD on plant pathology, and now I'm working in an agronomy unit, so it's unit ABSYSS for diversified agrobiosystems, agrobiodiversified systems, or whatever, ABSYSS. 9 00:01:18,670 --> 00:01:22,210 And I'm working on agroforestry, more specifically. 10 00:01:22,570 --> 00:01:28,730 So I'm working on the associations between plants and crops or animals. 11 00:01:29,350 --> 00:01:31,670 And I've been working there for 10 years. 12 00:01:32,030 --> 00:01:35,250 To learn more about her, I asked Marie about her motivation for research. 13 00:01:35,590 --> 00:01:39,470 I was always interested by research. 14 00:01:39,830 --> 00:01:46,470 So it's a calling, I could say, since I was maybe like 10 or something like that. 15 00:01:46,610 --> 00:02:00,270 Before that, I wanted to be a veterinary doctor, and then I wanted to work on research, and more specifically on biological research. 16 00:02:00,270 --> 00:02:28,310 I did not know about agronomy then, but then I discovered agronomy during my studies and I found it very interesting because it has both interest in scientific questions to understand how things work, and also it has a societal impact because, well, thanks to agronomy, we can improve the way we grow food that we eat. 17 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:41,090 I think agroforestry is a very interesting topic, again, both in terms of scientific interest and in terms of societal relevance. 18 00:02:42,180 --> 00:02:52,050 It's interesting scientifically because it relies on complex systems and complex interactions between the elements of the system. 19 00:02:52,430 --> 00:02:57,450 So it's very interesting to study and there are so many things we still don't know. 20 00:02:57,450 --> 00:02:58,670 So that's very interesting. 21 00:02:59,330 --> 00:03:14,410 And at the same time, I think it's one, not the only one, of course, but one of the very interesting levers for agroecology to increase the ecosystem services that is produced by agricultural landscapes. 22 00:03:14,610 --> 00:03:16,370 But what exactly is agroforestry? 23 00:03:16,830 --> 00:03:23,010 At its core, agroforestry is the intentional integration of trees into agricultural systems where crops or livestock are cultivated. 24 00:03:23,010 --> 00:03:32,510 Instead of isolating trees, crops and animals in separate zones, agroforestry combines them into a single, interconnected system where the components support and benefit each other. 25 00:03:33,390 --> 00:03:37,170 This does not only produce food, but also wood, as well as ecological services. 26 00:03:37,790 --> 00:03:45,110 For centuries, communities have integrated trees with crops and livestock to maximise the use of land and resources long before the term agroforestry was even coined. 27 00:03:46,410 --> 00:03:49,190 Agroforestry can be grouped into three main types of systems. 28 00:03:49,670 --> 00:03:51,510 Let's explore what these systems look like. 29 00:03:52,090 --> 00:03:56,570 The first type is agricultural systems, which integrate crops with trees. 30 00:03:57,210 --> 00:04:06,030 A common example is home gardens, where farmers grow a mix of trees, crops and crops in small managed areas near their homes to provide food, fire, wood and other resources. 31 00:04:07,190 --> 00:04:15,890 In West Africa, agroforestry practises like intercropping millet with trees have long been used to improve soil fertility and provide food security in arid regions. 32 00:04:16,829 --> 00:04:26,150 Similarly, in Central America, traditional shade-growing coffee systems combine coffee plants with taller canopy trees, enhancing biodiversity and protecting crops from extreme weather. 33 00:04:27,610 --> 00:04:33,470 Another example is alley cropping, where rows of trees and shrubs are planted alongside field crops. 34 00:04:34,110 --> 00:04:39,670 The trees help to protect the crops from wind, improve soil fertility, plus they provide products like timber or fruit. 35 00:04:41,190 --> 00:04:47,150 Alley cropping can be seen on the Domaine de la Restinclière, around 15 km north of Montpellier in the south of France. 36 00:04:47,550 --> 00:04:51,490 It's one of the oldest and most extensively studied agroforestry systems in Europe. 37 00:04:52,250 --> 00:04:57,510 There, the over 20 tree species were planted in rows to ensure compatibility with modern mechanisation. 38 00:04:58,070 --> 00:05:03,350 Between the long rows of trees, they planted a few rows of vine grapes or grow field crops such as wheat. 39 00:05:04,150 --> 00:05:08,350 The second type is silvopastoral systems, which bring together trees and livestock. 40 00:05:09,090 --> 00:05:15,890 In pastures, trees can provide shade and shelter for animals, which reduces heat stress and is good for the welfare of the animals. 41 00:05:16,450 --> 00:05:20,290 The trees can help stabilise the soil and also provide food for the animals. 42 00:05:20,890 --> 00:05:26,670 Implementing this system can also improve forage availability by creating a more diverse habitat that can support wildlife. 43 00:05:27,330 --> 00:05:33,390 A well-known example is the Dehesas in Spain, an old system where oak trees are scattered across grazing lands. 44 00:05:33,950 --> 00:05:36,430 The trees provide acorns for pigs and firewood. 45 00:05:36,970 --> 00:05:41,530 Finally, we have agrosilvopastoral systems, which are the most integrated of all. 46 00:05:41,970 --> 00:05:45,590 These systems combine trees, crops and livestock into a single space. 47 00:05:46,250 --> 00:05:48,350 For example, home gardens can also include animals. 48 00:05:48,850 --> 00:05:53,350 Imagine some chickens pecking around in the marsh, provided by a mix of crops and trees. 49 00:05:54,570 --> 00:05:58,790 So as you can see, within agroforestry, we have quite some diversity in the systems. 50 00:05:59,510 --> 00:06:03,690 Agroforestry as a concept is applicable to many different environments and farming goals. 51 00:06:04,970 --> 00:06:11,330 You could say that the magic of agroforestry lies in its ability to provide essential ecosystem services while boosting productivity. 52 00:06:12,290 --> 00:06:18,990 Research shows that trees and agroforestry systems provide soil fertility, enhance biodiversity and optimise the use of water and nutrients. 53 00:06:19,750 --> 00:06:25,110 This is especially important in challenging environments, like arid regions and areas prone to climate extremes. 54 00:06:25,670 --> 00:06:31,250 Marie will explain this further, but the main concept of agroforestry is how it creates synergy between its components. 55 00:06:31,590 --> 00:06:44,970 The process comes from the modification, for example, of the microclimate, so the shade of the tree during the day, but also the mask of the tree on the sky during the night buffers the temperature. 56 00:06:45,270 --> 00:06:48,330 So it's cooler during the day, warmer during the night. 57 00:06:48,770 --> 00:07:19,610 And that can be useful to avoid, for example, frost in the spring, early, early or rather late frosts that become more damaging due to climate change, because due to warmer winter, the crops will, for example, fruit trees or grapevine will open their buds more early. 58 00:07:19,910 --> 00:07:22,310 And so at a time when there is still a risk of frost. 59 00:07:22,890 --> 00:07:28,090 And so if trees buffer the temperature, there will be less risk of frost. 60 00:07:28,770 --> 00:07:46,350 And of course, for the cooler temperature in the shade, it's interesting also in the context of climate change to avoid heat stress during the hottest part of the day. 61 00:07:46,890 --> 00:07:52,410 One main advantage is that agroforestry can yield more per cultivated area than keeping the field and tree crops separated. 62 00:07:52,790 --> 00:07:53,490 How is it possible? 63 00:07:53,490 --> 00:08:00,810 Basis of agroforestry is the complementarity between the different species that you associate. 64 00:08:01,510 --> 00:08:13,130 For example, when you associate trees that shed their leaves, so deciduous trees with winter crops, then you have complementarity during the year. 65 00:08:13,990 --> 00:08:20,010 When you sow the crop in October, for example, the leaves of the trees are falling. 66 00:08:20,770 --> 00:08:22,890 The crop can grow during the winter. 67 00:08:23,470 --> 00:08:31,289 And finally, when the trees open their buds, the crop has completed most of its life cycle. 68 00:08:31,830 --> 00:08:33,870 Of course, not completely, but most of it. 69 00:08:34,450 --> 00:08:44,790 And when you harvest this winter crop in June or July, then the trees can still use the light for the during the summer, for example. 70 00:08:45,490 --> 00:08:49,150 So you have a temporal complementarity. 71 00:08:49,150 --> 00:08:52,090 So better use of the light resource. 72 00:08:52,930 --> 00:08:59,910 And there are also complementarities in time and in space for the use of nutrients and water. 73 00:09:00,750 --> 00:09:12,870 For example, if trees can go deeper than the roots of the crops, then it can exploit resources that are not accessible to the crops. 74 00:09:12,990 --> 00:09:14,550 So it creates complementarity. 75 00:09:14,550 --> 00:09:24,710 And through complementarity, you can increase the total productivity by associating the two species rather than separating it. 76 00:09:25,470 --> 00:09:32,370 And this has been, as you said, often claimed, but it has also been proved in a few cases. 77 00:09:33,190 --> 00:09:56,930 And for example, in my team, I was not there at the time, but in my team, we have proved that for a poplar and associated with arable crops, the productivity of the poplars were reduced compared to the forestry control. 78 00:09:57,550 --> 00:10:03,270 The productivity of the crop was reduced compared to the full crop, full sun crop. 79 00:10:03,270 --> 00:10:14,350 But by associating both, we were producing 30% more than if both crops were separated, both species. 80 00:10:15,010 --> 00:10:16,250 And there are more benefits. 81 00:10:16,670 --> 00:10:21,390 We could say that agroforestry offers a triple win, ecological, economic and social benefits. 82 00:10:22,110 --> 00:10:26,870 Ecologically, it improves soil health, provides wildlife habitats, enhances water use efficiency. 83 00:10:27,710 --> 00:10:36,510 Economically, it increases resilience to climate change, reduces the risk of crop failure and divisives farm income streams through both crop and wood production. 84 00:10:37,790 --> 00:10:39,970 And socially, it builds resilience for communities. 85 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:48,520 Agroforestry systems help farmers to adapt to climate change by stabilising yields and reducing vulnerability to extreme weather events. 86 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:53,460 Hearing all of these benefits in impressive numbers, you might wonder why there isn't agroforestry everywhere. 87 00:10:54,380 --> 00:10:58,980 The problem is that there are many barriers to adoption of agroforestry. 88 00:10:58,980 --> 00:11:13,540 And these barriers are both barriers of knowledge and skill of the farmers, because the farmers are farmers and they are not tree growers. 89 00:11:14,500 --> 00:11:38,600 They are barriers of the regulation and in particular the impact of, well, all the regulations were thought in a mind of separation of forest and agriculture. 90 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:46,460 And so combining both is difficult and people have to overcome a lot of barriers. 91 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:57,660 There are also economical barriers because it's expensive to instal a new agroforestry system, it's expensive to manage it at the beginning. 92 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:04,180 There are technical obstacles too, due to mechanisation, for example. 93 00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:09,440 So trees can be seen as, well, obstacles in a field. 94 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:18,140 Also regulatory barriers make it hard to combine agriculture and forestry because the rules are often set up to treat these as entirely separate sectors. 95 00:12:18,860 --> 00:12:24,260 Economically, the cost of establishing an agroforestry system can be prohibitive, especially for smaller farms. 96 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:26,500 And then there's the technical side. 97 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:33,440 Modern farming machinery and practises aren't always compatible with integrating trees into farmland, which means farmers need new tools and training. 98 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:36,400 So what could be done to overcome these challenges? 99 00:12:37,380 --> 00:12:39,360 Experts suggest a few key measures. 100 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:41,360 First, policy alignment is crucial. 101 00:12:41,900 --> 00:12:46,400 Agricultural and forestry policies need to work together to make it easier for farmers to adopt agroforestry. 102 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:53,620 Second, financial incentives like grants and subsidies should be expanded to help farmers cover the cost of setting up and maintaining agroforestry systems. 103 00:12:54,140 --> 00:13:00,060 Third, providing technical training and support will ensure that farmers have the skills and resources they need to manage these systems effectively. 104 00:13:01,020 --> 00:13:03,740 Let's take a look at the current situation of agroforestry support. 105 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:10,320 Subsidies are key to encouraging farmers to adopt these systems, and while some regions are still catching up, others are making advances. 106 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:15,120 In developing countries, much of the financial support comes from international programmes. 107 00:13:15,660 --> 00:13:21,660 Initiatives like the Global Environment Facility offer funding for agroforestry projects as part of their work to combat climate change. 108 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:29,000 In countries like Kenya and India, farmers are paid to plant trees and can be rewarded for the carbon they store in their agroforestry systems. 109 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:33,860 In the European Union, agroforestry is supported through the Common Agricultural Policy. 110 00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:42,600 Farmers can receive funding to plant and maintain trees on their farmland because of the environmental benefits agroforestry provides, like storing carbon and boosting biodiversity. 111 00:13:43,620 --> 00:13:50,060 In France, the National Agroforestry Development Plan offers grants, training, and technical support to help farmers adopt these practises. 112 00:13:51,620 --> 00:13:58,440 To expand agroforestry globally, governments and organisations need to align their policies, offer better financial incentives, and make funding easier to access. 113 00:13:58,900 --> 00:14:05,300 If they do, more farmers can adopt these systems, helping to tackle global challenges like climate change, food security, and biodiversity loss. 114 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:09,440 And as always, we need more research to promote the best version of agroforestry. 115 00:14:09,820 --> 00:14:11,020 Here's what Marie told me. 116 00:14:11,270 --> 00:14:25,400 I think we have still a lot to understand on the interactions between the species and the crop management, not only crop, but the management of the system. 117 00:14:25,940 --> 00:14:36,160 Because we start having some clues about the effect of management of our systems. 118 00:14:36,590 --> 00:14:54,320 We have knowledge based on ecology, on the interactions between species, but the complex ways in which management can influence interaction between species is very interesting. 119 00:14:55,240 --> 00:15:24,820 And in agroforestry, there are so many different ways in which we can modify the system, both when you design the system, so at the beginning, when you decide which species to plant, how to plant them, with which special design, for example, of the system, and also when you manage the crop, the soil, and the trees. 120 00:15:25,020 --> 00:15:28,240 Now let's take a look into the development of agroforestry research. 121 00:15:28,460 --> 00:15:41,740 The formalisation of agroforestry as a science discipline began relatively recently, in the mid-20th century, as researchers recognised the potential of these traditional systems to address issues like deforestation, soil degradation, and food insecurity. 122 00:15:42,460 --> 00:15:49,900 At first, agroforestry research primarily focused on documenting these practises, particularly in tropical regions, where they were already widespread. 123 00:15:50,460 --> 00:15:56,980 Early methodologies were largely observational, concentrating on tree-crop interactions, yield benefits, and basic ecosystem dynamics. 124 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:05,560 One of the key developments during this period was the introduction of biophysical theories like the central agroforestry hypothesis proposed by Kennel and colleagues in 1996. 125 00:16:06,700 --> 00:16:15,940 This theory suggested that the success of agroforestry systems relies on trees acquiring resources like water, light, or nutrients that crops cannot otherwise access. 126 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:21,920 Over time, the focus expanded to address global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation. 127 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:25,840 Today, agroforestry is recognised as a key strategy in sustainable agriculture. 128 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:31,340 Notably, research in temperate regions still lags behind studies conducted in tropical areas. 129 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:38,840 Advances in digital tools and modelling have accelerated progress, offering cost-effective and scalable alternatives to long-term field experiments. 130 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:45,880 There are two aspects of digital tools on which I work and I find interesting for agroforestry. 131 00:16:46,260 --> 00:16:48,680 The first one is a more classical approach. 132 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:50,720 It's models. 133 00:16:51,600 --> 00:17:07,420 Since we work with perennial crops, perennial trees, perennial plants, it's very difficult to predict the future. 134 00:17:08,460 --> 00:17:20,040 And in that aspect, modelling helps us project in the future, helps us, well, of course we also need experiments. 135 00:17:20,839 --> 00:17:29,480 But once you have followed an experiment and you have parameterized the model, it can help you extrapolate to other conditions. 136 00:17:30,100 --> 00:17:45,700 And that's also a specificity of agroforestry is that since it's a relatively new subject, there are not yet mature agroforestry systems everywhere for different types of systems, for different soils, in different conditions, et cetera. 137 00:17:45,700 --> 00:17:57,960 And so modelling is the only way we can extrapolate from the few experiments that we have to the whole possible combinations possible in agroforestry. 138 00:17:59,460 --> 00:18:02,220 So that's the more classical digital tools. 139 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:06,220 We did not call them digital at the time, it was not fashionable. 140 00:18:07,140 --> 00:18:17,740 And the second set of digital tools is the tools that allow interacting with the users directly. 141 00:18:17,740 --> 00:18:30,280 So we can change the model of research where you have researcher who publish papers and then you have technical institute who take the knowledge and adapt it to local conditions. 142 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:32,800 And then you have advisors that advise the farmers. 143 00:18:33,340 --> 00:18:40,760 With digital tools, there can be a more direct link between the users and the producers of the knowledge. 144 00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:56,920 And I find it interesting, even if I'm sure we don't use the full potentiality of these digital tools, but we are trying to devise new ways to collect information, for example. 145 00:18:56,920 --> 00:19:10,700 So it's all what is called citizen science, for example, that was already possible before, but it's completely multiplied thanks to the possibilities of digital tools. 146 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:30,400 And of course, also there is a digital in terms of sensors, so sensors that collect in real time a lot of data and then all the processing power that is needed to to process the data. 147 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:44,240 And that gives new possibilities to study agroforestry system that are complex and that are characterised by their high spatial heterogeneity. 148 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:58,300 So before you had one sensor that was worth 1000 euros each, so you had maybe two of them and put one in agroforestry, one in the agricultural control, and you were happy to have one set of data. 149 00:19:58,660 --> 00:20:02,860 But you were completely missing the spatial heterogeneity. 150 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:33,580 And now some people and I will start advising a new PhD who will start soon on a new high low tech sensors to better characterise the environment and better characterise the crop and to get new knowledge on how the plants react to its environment and hopefully improve the management adapted to local conditions. 151 00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:45,700 To me, these digital tools are very promising for the future of agroforestry from advanced models that help us predict how the systems might evolve under different conditions to real time sensors that give us a deeper understanding of the complexity. 152 00:20:46,220 --> 00:20:50,280 It's clear that technology is bringing even more potential to agroforestry research and practise. 153 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:53,020 But agroforestry is not a magical solution. 154 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:56,680 To conclude, Marie gives us an insight into what she wishes us all to remember. 155 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:09,900 I think that one important lesson that agroforestry teaches us is that nothing is true forever in all conditions. 156 00:21:09,900 --> 00:21:24,980 So what I really like about agroforestry is that, of course, we know the mechanisms that take place, but the whole point is not on knowing what happens, but on the balance between the different mechanisms. 157 00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:29,320 And this balance is really dependent on the conditions, on the management. 158 00:21:30,020 --> 00:21:42,800 And so it's interesting to see that you cannot devise a system that is one size fits all. 159 00:21:43,360 --> 00:21:49,660 It's not specific to agroforestry, it's also the case for all agroecological principles. 160 00:21:49,940 --> 00:22:04,100 You have a set of principles, but the balance between the different mechanisms, the positive and the negative one, will depend on the context, both the soil and climate and also the management. 161 00:22:05,380 --> 00:22:11,700 And so there is no place for dogmatism. 162 00:22:12,120 --> 00:22:24,520 It's always a matter of finding the good combination and the good management that will fit a specific set of conditions and a farmer's objective, for example. 163 00:22:24,980 --> 00:22:25,680 And here we are. 164 00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:29,340 Thank you, Dr. Marie Gosme gom, for sharing your insights with us on Mind the Globe. 165 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:30,780 And thank you for listening. 166 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:35,680 The next episode will be about seed inoculation for main crops in zero carbon agriculture. 167 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:38,380 I hope you will join Kitano to learn more about this.