Inga alley farming
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Inga alley cropping is the planting agricultural crops between rows of
Inga trees ''Inga'' is a genus of small tropical, tough-leaved, nitrogen-fixing treesElkan, Daniel. "Slash-and-burn farming has become a major threat to the world's rainforest" ''The Guardian'' 21 April 2004 and shrubs, subfamily Mimosoideae. ''Inga''s l ...
. It has been promoted by Mike Hands. Using the Inga tree for
alley cropping Agroforestry is a land use management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland. Trees produce a wide range of useful and marketable products from fruits/nuts, medicines, wood products, etc. This intentional ...
has been proposed as an alternative to the much more ecologically destructive slash and burn cultivation.Elkan, Daniel. ''Slash-and-burn farming has become a major threat to the world's rainforest'' The Guardian 21 April 2004 The technique has been found to increase yields. It is sustainable agriculture as it allows the same plot to be cultivated over and over again thus eliminating the need for burning of the rainforests to get fertile plots.


Inga tree

Inga trees are native to many parts of
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and South America. Inga grows well on the
acid soils Soil pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity (alkalinity) of a soil. Soil pH is a key characteristic that can be used to make informative analysis both qualitative and quantitatively regarding soil characteristics. pH is defined as the neg ...
of the tropical rainforest and former rainforest. They are leguminous and fix nitrogen into a form usable by plants.rainforestsaver.org
What is Inga alley cropping?
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Mycorrhiza   A mycorrhiza (from Greek μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. mycorrhizae, mycorrhiza or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant ...
growing within the roots ( arbuscular mycorrhiza) was found to take up spare phosphorus, allowing it to be recycled into the soil.Guinness, Bunny. ''A "miracle cure"'' The Sunday Telegraph 5 December 2004 Other benefits of Inga include the fact that it is fast growing with thick leaves which, when left on the ground after pruning, form a thick cover that protects both soil and roots from the sun and heavy rain. It branches out to form a thick canopy so as to cut off light from the weeds below and withstands careful pruning year after year.


History

The technique was first developed and trialled by tropical ecologist Mike Hands in
Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
in the late 1980s and early '90s. Research funding from the
EEC The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...
allowed him to experiment with species of Inga. Although alley cropping had been widely researched, it was thought that the tough pinnate leaves of the Inga tree would not decompose quickly enough. As the crops grow, so does the Inga. When the crops are harvested the Inga is allowed to grow back. Once more it closes the canopy, is pruned, and the cycle is repeated, time and again. Leaves pruned from the tree decompose on the ground releasing phosphorus for crops. Fungi take up phosphorus to repeat the cycle. Using this system, not only do the farmers grow their basic crops of maize and beans, but also cash crops. Previously this was not possible because when the plot was a distance from the farmer's home, consistent guarding and tending could be too challenging. Now with the same plot being used continuously, it can be near home, thus allowing an entire family to help to tend and guard it, even when there are young children. The Inga is used as hedges and pruned when large enough to provide a mulch in which bean and corn seeds are planted. This results in both improving crop yields and the retention of
soil fertility Soil fertility refers to the ability of soil to sustain agricultural plant growth, i.e. to provide plant habitat and result in sustained and consistent yields of high quality.
on the plot that is being farmed. Hands had seen the devastating consequences that are caused by slash and burn agriculture while working in Honduras; this new technique seemed to offer the solution to the environmental and economic problems faced by so many slash and burn farmers. Although this technique has the potential to save rainforest and lift many out of poverty, Inga alley cropping has not yet reached its full potential, although the charity Inga Foundation, headed by Mike Hands, has been consulted about potential projects in
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
( which is almost completely deforested) and the
Congo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...
. Discussions have also been mooted about projects in Peru and Madagascar. Another charity, Rainforest Saver formed to promote Inga Alley Cropping, started a project in 2016 in Ecuador, in the area of the Amazon where Inga edulis originates from, and by the end of 2018 more than 60 farms in the area had Inga plots. Rainforest Saver also started a project in Cameroon in 2009, where in late 2018 there were around 100 farms with Inga plots, mainly in Western Cameroon.


Method

For Inga alley cropping the trees are planted in rows (hedges) close together, with a gap, the alley, of about 4m between the rows. An initial application of
rock phosphate Phosphorite, phosphate rock or rock phosphate is a non-detrital sedimentary rock that contains high amounts of phosphate minerals. The phosphate content of phosphorite (or grade of phosphate rock) varies greatly, from 4% to 20% phosphorus pentoxi ...
has kept the system going for many years. When the trees have grown, usually in about two years, the canopies close over the alley and cut off the light and so smother the weeds. The trees are then carefully pruned. The larger branches are used for
firewood Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellets or chips. Firewood can ...
. The smaller branches and leaves are left on the ground in the alleys. These rot down into a good mulch (
compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting m ...
). If any weeds haven't been killed off by lack of light the mulch smothers them. The farmer then pokes holes into the mulch and plants their crops into the holes. The crops grow, fed by the mulch. The crops feed on the lower layers while the latest prunings form a protective layer over the soil and roots, shielding them from both the hot sun and heavy rain. This makes it possible for the roots of both the crops and the trees to stay to a considerable extent in the top layer of soil and the mulch, thus benefiting from the food in the mulch, and escaping soil pests and toxic minerals lower down. Pruning the Inga also makes its roots die back, thus reducing competition with the crops.


See also

* Shifting cultivation


References

{{Reflist *T.D.Pennignton and E.C.M. Fernandes (editors) "The Genus Inga, Utilization"
Inga species and alley-cropping
by Mike Hands, Kew Publications.


External links


Inga Foundation

Rainforest Saver Foundation (Inga alley cropping projects in Honduras and Cameroon)

Inga alley cropping as an agrometeorogical service to slash and burn cultivation

What is inga alley cropping?
Environmental issues with forests Tropical agriculture Agroforestry