Agroforestry

Agroforestry is the practice of combining trees with crops or livestock.

Only 3% of the UK’s farmland currently adopts agroforestry practices. We want to support farmers to help them explore ways to integrate trees and shrubs on their farmland.

Agroforestry can be defined as “a collective name for land use systems and technologies where woody perennials (trees, shrubs, etc.) are deliberately used on the same land management unit as agricultural crops and/or animals, either in some form of spatial arrangement or temporal sequence.”

In agroforestry systems, there are both ecological and economic interactions between the different components. In many cases agroforestry is a profitable activity even in the absence of subsidies or grants.

Agroforestry is an old practice recently developed in the UK after 40 years of intensive research based on national network trials. It has only recently been recognised by agricultural and forestry policy in the UK.

Find out more about agroforestry from the Forestry Commission.

How we can help Hampshire's farmers

Hampshire Forest Partnership will seek to provide opportunities for and deliver projects that meet six strategic priorities:

1. Public benefit, amenity value, health and wellbeing
2. Climate change mitigation and resilience
3. Biodiversity and local nature recovery
4. Landscape character, cultural and heritage development
5. Learning, awareness, and educational opportunities
6. Sustainable development of the rural economy.

Hampshire Forest Partnership recognises that there are many opportunities for tree planting on farmland and to help farmers reach net zero, improve soils, and enhance biodiversity. Agroforestry has seen a recent surge in interest amongst farmers, yet there remains confusion about how best to integrate tree planting within farming systems.