similar pattern of development. In the United States, a unique complex of
land grant universities and agricultural experiment stations evolved to
provide the research, teaching, and extension necessary to build a highly
successful food production system. This intensive agriculture model was
exported to the developing world through the activities of many campusbased,
'international agriculture' programs. Though helping to fuel the
'Green Revolution', this model often was found to be inadequate. In many
cases, intensive agricultural practices promoted or exacerbated environmental
problems such as soil erosion, ground water contamination, and air
pollution. Socioeconomic problems also have arisen due to cultural conflicts,
marketing restrictions, financial and resource limitations, gender
issues and land tenure constraints. Probably most important was the fact
that agricultural intensification programs commonly by-passed the 'poorest
of the poor' - that is, the landless and those forced to farm lands very
marginal for sustainable agricultural production without substantial subsidization.
Attempts to address this situation have come in the form of
organic agriculture, farming systems research, and low input sustainable
agriculture programs. These programs have been aimed at enhancing food
production and generally have neglected many environmental issues and
especially the key role that woody plants can play in maintaining the
ecological integrity of agricultural systems.
Agroforestry offers the opportunity to bring together the fields of forestry
and agriculture in order to offer the scientific underpinnings for the development
of a new, comprehensive and integrative land-use strategy.
Agroforestry also offers the opportunity for developing countries to take the
lead in the identification of land-use systems important to all countries as the
failings of intensification are not restricted to countries with relatively low
GNPs and per capita incomes. Many exciting opportunities exist. However,
although many see agroforestry as a new model for integrative land use and
environmental problem-solving, there are a number of potential constraints
that must be considered as this new field develops further.