Agroforestry Production Development Tool Under Development for BC

British Columbia’s managed forests are models of sustainability and conservation, and they provide a wide range of goods and services to rural and urban communities in the province and beyond. Many BC farms also include forested areas, but these may not be well integrated into farm operations or seen for their potential for enterprise development. With consumers increasingly demanding higher standards of ethically and sustainably sourced products, and growing interest carbon offset projects, BC’s agricultural sector has exciting opportunities to contribute to the sustainable use of forested lands and generate new streams of income, through agroforestry enterprises.

Brinkman and Associates Reforestation, in partnership with the UBC Farm, and with funding from the BC Agroforestry Industry Development Initiative, will develop a business support tool for producers considering to pursue an agroforestry venture on their land. The Agroforestry Production Development Tool (APD Tool) will be a decision-making and planning framework for assessing the viability of potential integrated timber and non-timber resource enterprises, both quantitatively and qualitatively, given a triple bottom line that includes people, planet and profit.  The tool will be piloted by UBC Farm and other agricultural operations across BC (including Singing Lands Ranch, Big Bear Ranch, Amara Farm, Nathan Creek Organic Farm and Pilgrims Produce) as case studies for assessing the long-term financial viability and direct and indirect social and environmental benefits of a given agroforestry venture.

The APD Tool will incorporate market research, operational guidelines and other pertinent considerations, in a methodological approach to decision making such that other producers can replicate and adapt it to their specific needs.  The APD Tool will create a process that makes adoption of these practices more accessible, and breaks down some of the barriers to the adoption of agroforestry in BC, including:

1. Knowledge and understanding about which specific endeavours to pursue given site considerations (climate, soil, landscape characteristics), current infrastructure/operations, market demand, supply chain considerations (processing, distribution, transportation), is complex and lacks a streamlined decision making framework;
2. Capital investment costs and long payback periods constrain small producers and without quantitative information regarding the potential benefits (social, environmental and economic), the risk involved with developing new revenue streams can be deterring; and,
3. Collaboration between agroforestry producers to develop marketing mechanisms that promote sustainably sourced agroforestry products is not well established for most agroforestry options in BC. Additionally, mainstream understanding of agroforestry is limited and consumer knowledge regarding the benefits of purchasing agroforestry products does not yet influence purchasing behaviour. Consequently, what timber and non-timber resources will be most successfully brought to market, is relatively unknown.

Founded in 1970, Brinkman & Associates has steadily grown from one of the original reforestation companies in BC, into a broader forestry services management company, continually adding services and geographic scope so that it now operates from the West Coast to Ontario, some parts of the USA, Central America and other countries around the world. Their expertise includes; silviculture, REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) and afforestation/reforestation forest carbon projects, biomass/biofuels, resource management for First Nations including sustainable forest management for timber and non-timber forest products (NTFP), urban restoration, high-value tropical hardwood plantations and ecosystem restoration. Brinkman & Associates are collaborating with UBC Farm as a way of contributing to community-based learning and research-based applications of agroforestry development.

The UBC Farm currently offers a wide range of interdisciplinary learning, research and community programs on-site, while operating as a working sustainable food/fuel/fibre-production farm at the Vancouver campus. UBC Farm is continuing to develop its position as a learning hub for agroforestry practices in the region, and as a leader in agroforestry education, extension, demonstration and research.

Additional agricultural producer partners are welcome to participate in this project.  If you are interested in participating in the development of the APD Tool by serving as a case-study location, please contact the project coordinator, Kate Menzies.  For more information or updates on the progress of the development of the APD Tool, please visit http://agroforestry.ubcfarm.ubc.ca/agroforestry-production-development-tool/

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Funding for this work has been provided through the BC Agroforestry Industry Development Initiative (AGF1301)