Socioeconomic research in agroforestry: A decade in review

Abstract

Agroforestry research in academia and government and non-governmental agencies began by focusing on biophysical aspects. As this science represents a series of practices implemented by individual farmers, it requires in-depth social and economic analyses to assess economic feasibility of agroforestry systems, factors influencing the adoption of agroforestry, monitor the relevance and effectiveness of investigations, and guide future research efforts. This study presents literature dealing with socioeconomic issues in agroforestry research from interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, and gray literature from 1992 to 2002. Over 500 publications were analyzed to determine relative dominance of geographical regions, types of analyses, agroforestry technologies, and socioeconomic issues. Trends were examined over time and by region. Overall, the body of literature exhibits an increasing trend toward regional and analytical diversity over time. Some deficiencies of regional and thematic nature were observed, which included underrepresented temperate regions and technologies such as riparian buffers, as well as only a small number of papers dealing with gender and property rights. These suggest opportunities for future investigations. © Springer 2005.