The 3rd International Conference in Agroforestry

It is no doubt that farming systems in developing countries faces two different interfering threats, i.e. decrease of farmland per capita and significant population growth. Less farmland and increasing the need of people livelihood impacts on dynamics change of small holder agroforestry. Traditional agroforestry may be characterized by low productivity but more sustainable, and probably more high characters in adoptability by small holder farmers. In some countries, agroforestry is neither recognized as agriculture nor forestry practice by the government. Based on the situation, the current agroforestry practices has to be improved through accommodating new or modern approaches, to increase the socio-economy and ecological impact on local and global communities. Employing high quality and vast impact of integrated research program, will able to change the traditional (primitive) agroforestry to modern (science-based) agroforestry. The change includes restoration of traditional knowledge and local wisdom that is believed as the baseline for the improvement, and utilizing modern technology that will challenge agroforestry to increase its economic productivity and sustainability. A “modern agroforestry” will be characterized by intensive use of vertical growing space (Budiadi et al., 2013) or multilayers, high diversity, products and markets (Elevitch & Wilkinson, 2000), and more closed-to nature practice (Montagnini and Ashton, 1999).

The jargon of ”developing from the end” will change the thought that managing agroforestry system at the upstream must be oriented toward increasing value chain of the product through improving smart processing and marketing at the downstream. In fact, adoption of new approach as “modern agroforestry” will always be challenged by anthropological approach to develop smart social forestry programs. The use of artificial intelligent, open access of big data and high quality equipments will be a necessity for supporting future extension works.