Agroforestry as an Ecofriendly Pathway to Income Generation and Livelihood Improvement: The Case of the Madhupur Garh, Bangladesh

Abstract

Agroforestry production systems are underappreciated for their role in meeting the SDGs on poverty, food security, and climate change. In Bangladesh, low-productive agroforestry practices also provide ecosystem services and supply food to more than 22 million poor families. Accordingly, Madhupur Garh’s agroforestry practices are very promising and act as a significant factor in providing several outputs and opportunities for over 50,000 farmers to improve farm productivity, livelihoods, and resource conservation. Therefore, a case study was undertaken to analyze the economical profitability of promising local agroforestry practices and their impacts on the livelihoods of the rural farmers living in Madhupur Garh. This study identified six of the most common potential agroforestry practices in the Madhupur Garh. Among six identified agroforestry practices, the highest gross return and net profit were obtained from the Acacia-Pineapple-Ginger-based agroforestry practice (BCR 2.83). Moreover, these agroforestry models have simultaneously improved participants' social, physical, human, and ecological capital. So, the study argues that these agroforestry models not only provide economic returns but also augment the livelihood capital of the local farmers, thus developing their community as a whole, and this research looks at some of the key aspects of that development. Therefore, it can be concluded that the Acacia-Pineapple-Ginger-based agroforestry program can be the most effective strategy for generating income for the rural people in the study area and have an impact on the local farmers' livelihoods in the Madhupur Garh of Bangladesh.