Agroforestry Research: Proposal for Tactical Model Development through Strategic Planning

Abstract

A strategy is proposed to develop tactical models describing the management decisions required by a farmer /landowner to implement a temperate agroforestry system. The strategy consists of three phases: evaluation, technical and outreach. The evaluation phase defines the clientele, their needs and the types of agroforestry systems required. The tactical model is constructed, guided by the results of the evaluation phase, in the technical phase. The outreachphase presents the completed model to the clientele. This strategy is a framework that coordinates multidisciplinary activities providing a depth of knowledge about the system's productivity and ensures the relevance of the model by involving farmers as coparticipants in research. Ken Tourjee is a tree improvement specialist with the University of Missouri-Columbia Centerfor Agroforestry. His current research interests arefocused on breeding eastern black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) for increased nut production in alley croppingsystems adapted to Midwestern USA environments. He holdsan MSc in internationalagricultural development and a PhD in genetics, with an emphasis on plant breeding and quantitative genetics,from the University of California, Davis. He has workedfor several yearsas an industrial research scientist. Dr Osburn is a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Missouri-Columbia, with an interest in the economics offarming systems. His research, teachingand extension activities have emphasized the needfor assessingenterprises and component technologies from the perspective of the totalfarm system. He has provided leadership of numerous research/ demonstration projects with multidisciplinary participants. During his career he has worked extensively with numerous state and federal institutions, among which were the Farm Credit Administration and the US Agency for International Development. He is the co-author of two management-related text books and numerous publications.