The business case for strengthening traditional agroforestry systems with data science and digitalization

The ecological value of traditional agroforestry systems is well recognized, but many are being transformed into monocultural plantations due to economic pressure. This research was conducted by the NGO Sekar Kawung in Beringin Tinggi, a remote village of Indonesia’s Jambi Province. We follow the premise that traditional agroforestry crops, often have significant economic potential. Through Participatory Action Research, we helped farmers to determine how they could improve incomes from remaining highly biodiverse agroforest by applying rigorous agricultural informatics. We identified 156 different plants used for food purposes, documented fading agriculture rituals, myths, legends related to food species, and analyzed the economic potential of eight key subsistence tree crops. A dataset of these tree crops for 160 plots of farmland belonging to 132 or 65% of all families, demonstrated economically viable potential as well as new green product options. We also introduced an internet-based application enabling local youth to continue developing datasets.