PRETATERRA's Agroforestry
Translated from Portuguese. Original published by PRETATERRA.
Agroforestry goes by many names: food forest, edible garden, integrated crop-livestock-forestry system (ICLF), agroforestry system (AFS) and syntropic agriculture, among others. At PRETATERRA, designing an agroforest is a participatory process.
Designing an agroforest raises many questions. What are productive restoration and natural regeneration? When should we use rock dust or other alternative inputs? How does agroforestry relate to organic farming? Can planting help restore water sources? How do succession and vertical layers shape a system? Can a design be modular and replicated? Is direct seeding with a seed mix effective? Can we establish an urban agroforest? Which service species and tools should we choose? How and when should we prune? How do we start, and which species grow well together?
“We draw on a wide range of methods and combine them with new technologies. We seek productive landscapes that integrate conservation, abundant food production, carbon-neutral agriculture and healthy soils. Inspired by ancestral knowledge, PRETATERRA designs complex, modular and adaptable systems that can be replicated and remain economically viable. These systems can replace monocultures with diverse crops and connected agroforestry corridors.”
Agroforestry brings together ideas from many traditions, including Masanobu Fukuoka's natural farming, Ernst Götsch's syntropic agriculture, Bill Mollison's permaculture and Rudolf Steiner's biodynamic agriculture. Their principles help us develop regenerative farming systems adapted to each place.
Welcome to PRETATERRA's agroforestry world.
