In my design of La Rose Cocoa Farm, I synthesized a
combination of Western agricultural techniques and indigenous agroforestry
(multi-storey farming) practices. Western techniques, such as irrigation from a
hand-dug well and the use of NPK (nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium) inputs,
are employed to push the farm into a scenario where indigenous agroforestry
practices can completely replace Western techniques. This is necessary to
rehabilitate degraded agro-ecosystems that have been excessively cultivated
with monocropping techniques and/or logged for timber. Fortunately, most of
these lands are only mildly degraded and are patched with clusters of trees
that provide valuable lead litter.
Figure 1: Multi-Storey farm with oil palms, young plantains and bananas, and cocoa. This farm is in the same area where I farm, but is likely around 6 or 7 years old.
Though the terms “agroforestry” and “multi-storey farming”
are used interchangeably, the latter is much more effective at describing what
are typically pictured as indigenous agroforestry cultivation methods.
“Agroforestry” is derived from ager
(fields) and forestry, and is rooted
in European ways of thinking about domesticated food production. Unfortunately,
the term does not encapsulate essential features of most indigenous
“agroforestry” systems. These features include cultivating and harvesting foods
at different levels in terms of height, as well as combining endemic species
with introduced and locally domesticated species. An indigenous agroforestry
system is likened to an anthropogenic ecosystem that is simultaneously a farm.
For example, the ground cover can be planted with leguminous plants such as
peanuts, have a three or four foot subsequent level of cassava or maize, a
shade-tree such as coffee or cocoa on the third level, a larger tree such as a
plantain or banana, and then tall timber species or citrus species that close
the canopy.
The benefits of multi-storey farming are plentiful.
Multi-storey farming methods involve mixed cropping of ground crops, tree
crops, fruit crops, and cash crops. This provides farmers with economic
security in the sense that a glut in the market for one crop can be absorbed by
the presence of other crops. Plants are chosen that have symbiotic
relationships – for example, a Ceiba
pentadara tree can provide shade for coffee or cocoa while enriching the
top soil with decomposing leaf litter – and thus help with a more efficient
nutrient cycle. Multi-storey farming systems create environments with cool air
and that protect the soil from solar radiation. Multi-storey farming systems
retain moisture and are more resilient during drought periods.
In some ways, this makes the label “La Rose Cocoa Farm” seem
inappropriate. This project involves, in addition to cocoa: plantains, bananas,
papayas, pineapples, cassava, taro root (coco-yam), palm nuts, maize, avocado, and
peanuts. The plan still allows the ideal 435 cocoa tree/acre plan to move
forward. Eventually, the cocoa trees will grow large enough to create a
self-sustaining canopy under which other crops can benefit from the
nutrient-rich leaf litter of the cocoa trees.
Figure 2: A picture of my mutli-storey farm at Guaman-Odumase. From left to right: oil palm, taro root, cocoa, plantains, bananas.
Thus, the benefits of multi-storey farming can be summarized
as mimicking a non-anthropogenic ecosystem, requiring minimum amounts of
maintenance, and providing a year round source of sustenance and income. This
is why “agroforestry” systems of agriculture are being promoted in tropical
environments that were once exploited through mono-cropped cash crop systems
that were sanctioned by international markets.
Biodiversity through multi-storey farming is the future of
agriculture, and it is rather ironically inspired by the cultivation methods of
indigenous peoples that were displaced decades ago. I have been inspired by it,
and La Rose Cocoa Farm has modeled its cultivation methods upon it.
