Agroforest workshop to develop a conceptual model as a decision support tool

On 17th February 2023, an agroforestry workshop was conducted at HortiBonn. In the workshop, farmers who have implemented agroforestry or have planned to do so in the near future were invited along with extensionists, consultants and other experts. We aimed to develop a co-created conceptual model of agroforestry systems in Germany with these stakeholders. Through the workshop, we wanted to recognize the primary motivation and various costs associated with adopting and maintaining agroforestry systems. We also wanted to comprehend the different concerns and barriers that adopting agroforestry systems faces in a German context. Finally, we analyzed the enabling environment that can be provided to promote the adoption of agroforestry in Germany. The perspectives of farmers, policy-makers and society were considered by the stakeholders. The workshop adopted the 1-2-4-all brainstorming method to create a collaborative, encompassing conceptual model. In this method, the participants were asked to spend a few minutes by themselves to note their ideas. Then, they shared and discussed these with their partners. A group discussion was held in the next stage to finalize the ideas. After that, each group presented their ideas in a plenary discussion to all the stakeholders present in the workshop.

This workshop will develop a conceptual model of agroforestry, which forms the core of our research on agroforestry systems at HortiBonn. We are very grateful to all the workshop participants for their contribution. We hope to get in touch with them soon for the next stage!