Trees For
Livelihoods
Agroforestry Solutions in Central India: Madhya Pradesh
In a one-of-a-kind attempt at biodiversity action outside forests on a mega scale, smallholder farmers come together on this afforestation drive on farmlands, to increase their financial security and adapt to their ever-changing crop yields. Diverse native trees on farm boundaries fight land and soil degradation and ensure better livelihoods. This agroforestry venture creates alternative income streams for farmers, while being an effective carbon sequestration solution as well. Potentially minimizing urban migration, this program works with strengthening market networks and collective adaptive capacity, for a resilient rural Madhya Pradesh.
Madhya Pradesh, India
Project Location: Madhya Pradesh, India Methodology: Afforestation, Reforestation, Revegetation (ARR)
Standard: Verified Carbon Standard
Plantation Area: 40,000 HA
Current Plantation: 10.5 million trees
Farmers Engaged: 19,000+
Future Project Expansion: 60 million trees
Species
Custard Apple
Beech
wood
Jamun
Mahogany
Moringa
Teak
Guava
Shisham
Income, Security & Stewardship through Agroforestry
Over 140,000 farmers across several districts of Madhya Pradesh are integrating timber and fruit trees in their agricultural landscapes as a viable land use system. Timber trees like teak provide a long-term financial buffer, while fruit trees bring year-round nutrition and income. Led and encouraged by a team of dedicated Preraks (motivators), this approach enables farmer groups and communities to become environmental stewards and build generational resilience against the climate crisis.
Income Hedge
for Smallholders
Social Security for
Smallholders
Nature-based Carbon Removal at Megascale
Biodiversity Outside Forests: The Watershed Approach
Partnerships for Watershed Restoration
These regions are susceptible to heat waves and crop losses. These events directly endanger the financial stability of these smallholder families. The trees under this program provide an economic net against potential future drivers of poverty, keeping in mind that the agriculture labor demographics are shifting with younger people moving out of the field, and the risk of these same farmers aging and not being able to continue any farming practices in the future with the absence of any support from their children.
The program promotes use of Agroforestry as a financial security solution for the smallholder farming communities of Madhya Pradesh. There is a direct bearing of this program on reversing rural migration by enabling localized economic activities, as well as on social security for aging farmers. Additionally, the planting management is implemented by the local rural community members, a number which runs into thousands, which results in direct economic benefit in the form of service payments for nursery management, planting, maintenance and monitoring.
Smallholders are on the frontline bearing the brunt of climate change. The program in addition to helping them adapt to changing crop yields also allows them to remove a significant amount of CO2 from the atmosphere. The program at full capacity is expected to remove almost 10 million tCO2 over the next 20 years or so.
Large scale programs such as these help ground water retention across the whole region, which directly helps local biodiversity ecosystems thrive. The project has a landscape-based approach and will help restore this entire watershed and enable significant positive impact on life on land in this landscape.
The ‘Trees for Livelihood’ program enables collective action through convergence. Convergence of public resources into the program is crucial for the program’s success. The local state government is heavily involved in the promotion of the program, which leads to increased small holder farmers confidence level on the program. A very elaborate FPIC process led us to having a one of kind multi-tiered institutional mechanism to the program including governments, academia, civil society organizations, farmer federations and local village councils.
Income Hedge for Smallholders
These regions are susceptible to heat waves and crop losses. These events directly endanger the financial stability of these smallholder families. The trees under this program provide an economic net against potential future drivers of poverty, keeping in mind that the agriculture labor demographics are shifting with younger people moving out of the field, and the risk of these same farmers aging and not being able to continue any farming practices in the future with the absence of any support from their children.
Social Security for Smallholders
The program promotes use of Agroforestry as a financial security solution for the smallholder farming communities of Madhya Pradesh. There is a direct bearing of this program on reversing rural migration by enabling localized economic activities, as well as on social security for aging farmers. Additionally, the planting management is implemented by the local rural community members, a number which runs into thousands, which results in direct economic benefit in the form of service payments for nursery management, planting, maintenance and monitoring.
Nature-based Carbon Removal at Megascale
Smallholders are on the frontline bearing the brunt of climate change. The program in addition to helping them adapt to changing crop yields also allows them to remove a significant amount of CO2 from the atmosphere. The program at full capacity is expected to remove almost 10 million tCO2 over the next 20 years or so.
Biodiversity Outside Forests: The Watershed Approach
Large scale programs such as these help ground water retention across the whole region, which directly helps local biodiversity ecosystems thrive. The project has a landscape-based approach and will help restore this entire watershed and enable significant positive impact on life on land in this landscape.
Partnerships for Watershed Restoration
The ‘Trees for Livelihood’ program enables collective action through convergence. Convergence of public resources into the program is crucial for the program’s success. The local state government is heavily involved in the promotion of the program, which leads to increased small holder farmers confidence level on the program. A very elaborate FPIC process led us to having a one of kind multi-tiered institutional mechanism to the program including governments, academia, civil society organizations, farmer federations and local village councils.
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Real Stories, Real Change
Sushma's Story
Their (women’s) responsibilities are limited to household chores, cooking, taking care of children, and managing their education. People say that women cannot accomplish such big targets or other tasks. I said, “Come forward. We will show you how it’s done.”
Sushma Dhurve
Farmer and Prerak (Motivator)
Kalaripat, Harda, Madhya Pradesh
