India Smallholder Agroforestry Project
The India Smallholder Agroforestry Project will center around the participation of the community in planting the trees and caring for the same. The project will apply adequate focus on mobilising, inspiring and educating the community members in general and other local stakeholders to assume the ownership of the initiative and to take it forward.
Project Location
Jhargram District, West Bengal, India – This project will engage 500 smallholder households across Jhargram District, focusing on agroforestry and the preservation of trees within a participatory model.
Project Goals
The primary goals of the India Smallholder Agroforestry Project are:
- To work with 500 smallholder households to plant and preserve 20,000 trees
- To promote individual household-based planting with guidance from community trainers to ensure proper care, survival, and sustainable use of the trees' produce
- To employ a mixed strategy combining grafting expertise for generating high-quality fruit trees and developing saplings from quality seeds
- To involve local level CBOs (Community-Based Organizations) and Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in executing project activities
- To establish small nurseries across the project area
The project aims to render tree planting as a communal effort, creating collective economic and environmental benefits.
Project Impact
The expected impacts of this project include:
- The planting and preservation of 20,000 trees, benefiting the environment and local communities
- Economic empowerment of smallholder households through sustainable use of tree products
- Increased awareness and participation in biodiversity conservation among the community, particularly with a focus on the understanding of biodiversity in rural India, which is far higher than in urban areas
- Strengthened local economies by involving CBOs and SHGs in tree planting, nursery development, and agroforestry practices
- Improved environmental sustainability through community-led efforts to restore and preserve natural habitats
By fostering a sense of communal responsibility and encouraging participation, the project aims to create green, healthy, and economically prosperous villages in Jhargram District.
