Temporal aspects of agroforestry adoption: SARE case study

Agroforestry, with its wide range of economic, ecological, and social benefits, provides a sustainable alternative to contemporary agriculture linked today to many environmental and social problems. However, on-the-ground adoption and dissemination of U.S. agroforestry remains limited despite advances in research on its application, benefits, and potential. Few studies have explored factors influencing agroforestry adoption and dissemination bottlenecks in the U.S., and they usually do not cover temporal aspects of agroforestry adoption. A review of the temporal dynamics of agroforestry adoption in the U.S. showed its importance for understanding the innovation-decision process and the complexity of agroforestry practice adoption. An in-depth study was conducted focusing on the timeline of agroforestry adoption by practitioners across the U.S. who have implemented an agroforestry project with the support from the USDA SARE program. Results highlight the importance of personal values and character traits, availability of information and support, and access to land as factors influencing adoption. The long period of agroforestry practice establishment prior to returns on investment results in longer innovation-to-decision periods and implementation-to-confirmation periods. The study suggests using innovation-to-confirmation instead of innovation-to-decision periods to more accurately reflect the adoption dynamics. To better understand agroforestry adoption and dissemination, results point to the need to incorporate temporal aspects and establish longitudinal research on different types of agroforestry practices.