Agroforestry research and training

ICRAF will develop and test a method to diagnose and provide agroforestry solutions to land use problems; inventory existing agroforestry systems and develop a network of collaborating research institutions; and provide training. A multidisciplinary ICRAF team will develop a practical, diagnostic methodology to identify land use problems on marginal LDC lands, analyze constraints to improved land management, and identify agroforestry options to alleviate these constraints. The methodology will be tested at ICRAF"s research center in Kenya and on farms in other regions, and a diagnostic handbook will be produced. ICRAF will systematically collect documentation on important and promising agroforestry systems worldwide and will use the resulting data to identify agroforestry research and development (R&D) priorities and to establish a systems register and data bank to record and update global statistics on agroforestry trends. These data will be disseminated through various publications, and a book will be published on the characteristics and location of the world"s major agroforestry systems. ICRAF will also develop a network of collaborating LDC agroforestry R&D institutions to help with the project"s diagnostic testing, data gathering, and research activities. ICRAF will also develop curricula for training courses in the above-noted diagnostic methodology. Case studies, documentation, lectures, practical field exercises, and audiovisual materials will be made available to collaborating institutions; the preparation of country-specific training materials will be emphasized. During each of the project"s last 2 years, a 2-3 week course will be held in Kenya for 15-20 for resource planners, research scientists, and development agents from Eastern Africa, and a similar course will be held with a collaborating institute in another region (e.g., Latin America, West Africa, Southeast Asia).