Multi-storied cropping in Cavite: A farmer-derived agroforestry system

The search for addressing the environmental degradation problems facing the Uplands and Hillylands in most parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America inevitably ends up in the selection of an Agro-Forestry based intervention strategy. Perennials such as trees are an important component of any such stabilization strategy. However, some of the best designers of widely adopted traditional agroforestry systems have been the farmers themselves. One such example is the polycultural, multistoried cropping system of Cavite, Philippines where over 12,285 hectares of land are devoted to agriculture planted to various crops which include coconut, coffee, banana, papaya, pineapple, upland rice, tuber crops and different kinds of fruit trees along with the shade producing Gliricidia sepium. This agroforestry system was developed by the farmers themselves and has evolved over the years (and continues to do so). This article discusses various technical aspects of this approach as practiced by the majority of Cavite farmers. (author)