Potential of Agroforestry as a Land Use Option in Punjab, India

State-wise assessment of forest/tree cover shows an almost constant trend in the extent of forest/tree cover in most of the States and Union Territories over the last one and a half decades. The only possibility of increasing tree cover lies in promoting tree growing outside forests, particularly in the vast tracts of Culturable Non-Forest Area (CNFA), estimated to be around 66 % of the country's total geographical area. Punjab, with a forest and tree cover of only 6.33 per cent has about 84 per cent of its land under agricultural use. Diversification from intense and over-exhaustive agriculture is needed, which is not only depleting soil of its nutrients and lowering ground-water table crops but also proving to be an environmental hazard as well because of indiscriminate use of fertilizers and pesticides. This requires technological and policy interventions in critical areas thereby offering to the farmers practical, viable and economically attractive alternate land use options. Agroforestry offers a better livelihood strategy to farmers due to relatively low input costs, flexible labour requirements, higher profitability, diversity of income sources, and more negotiating power at marketing stage than with annual crops. Interest in trees is higher with increasing opportunity cost of labour. Tree-crop combinations have been found to give better economic returns than trees or annual crops alone. This paper analyzed the yields and economic returns from poplar, clonal Eucalyptus, which are fast emerging as the most preferred tree species for agroforestry and also the prospects of Teak for plantation on farmlands. The yields and returns are based on the data collected from sample plots of poplar and teak laid out in the different agro-climatic zones in Punjab. Analysis for clonal Eucalyptus is based on a study by Haryana Forest Department and a four years old trial by Pragati Biotech in Punjab.