Implementing on - farm agroforestry research : lessons learned in Talamanca , Costa Rica JOHN BEER Apdo . ... The emphasis was on production measurements ( e.g. , crop yields per hectare ) rather than socio - economic indicators ( e.g. ...

Criteria were developed for determining which farmers were most likely to make a long - term committment to the ... agriculture proved surprisingly cost - efficient as pesticides were the major cost of high value crop production . 4.

The system provides a diverse range of timber and non - timber forest products , and environmental benefits due to its forest - like structure , but rubber production per hectare is low . A network of on - farm trials was set up to ...

If the trials are to be established on a cultivated field , then the present crop development may serve as an indicator of non - homogeneous areas which should be avoided for future productivity measurements ( " uniformity trial " but ...

It may include conferences on Farming System Research approach , prac- tical sessions on diagramming existing systems ... This part includes lectures on agroforestry with annual and perennial crops , and with animal production systems ...

Farm level data on various aspects of household's socio - economic variables , production systems and land use , and the costs and benefits of agricultural crops and agroforestry systems were collected from the selected farmers through ...

The open ended questions can be discussed in any way which is convenient for interviewer and farmer . ... as to the potentials , requirements and limitations of each agricultural crop ( e.g. ginger specialists ; field officers ) .

The above policy was based on the need to make new land available for agricultural production and thus contribute to national development . However , such measures were justified only so long as land with agricultural potential remained ...

The objective is to optimize yield per unit of area whilst respecting the principle of sustained yield . ... Agro - forestry techniques have not been considered part of farming systems up to now because research on these techniques has ...

These approaches , probably including agroforestry , should ( 1 ) increase profitability of production , without loss in ... Since animals are a vital part of most agricultural systems , their efficiency must be improved by optimizing ...