Agroforestry and non-state actors: A review

Agroforestry, or the intentional integration of trees on crop or pastureland, is a sustainable land use system that provides ecosystem services including climate change mitigation and private benefits for smallholders. While existing reviews of agroforestry adoption focus on government policy, there is increasing interest from, and opportunities for, non-state actors to accelerate agroforestry adoption. The purpose of this critical review is to identify points of entry for non-state actors to increase smallholder incentives for agroforestry adoption in low and middle income countries. We identify opportunities for non-state actors to address key market failures in all stages of the agroforestry system. We find that non-state actors have advantages of proximity and institutional knowledge that provide opportunities for direct and indirect intervention to increase agroforestry adoption.