Agroforestry Education and Training: Present and Future

Book excerpt: Interest and initiatives in agroforestry education and training, as in other aspects of agroforestry development, have increased tremendously during the past decade. Coordination of such educational activities was initiated by the first international workshop on education in agroforestry organized by the International Council for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) in Decem ber 1982, at Nairobi, Kenya. Since then, agroforestry has been incorporated into the curricula of many educational and training institutions around the world. Moreover, several institutions have developed entire academic programs specifically in agroforestry. However, most of these activities are still isolated initiatives, without common strategies or philosophies. This second international agroforestry workshop was therefore planned to pro vide a forum for reviewing progress, sharing programs and experiences, and planning and coordinating future directions in agroforestry education and training. The main objectives were to review the on-going programs, to assess the scope of professional education and training in relation to the perceived needs of trained personnel, to recommend guidelines for further program development, and to establish networking among institutions and agencies involved in agroforestry education and training. These proceedings contain the keynote papers, regional/country presenta tions and conclusions and recommendations of the International Workshop on Education and Training in Agroforestry held at the University of Florida, Gainesville, USA in December, 1988. The strategy of the workshop was to facilitate focused discussion on identified issues by an invited group of world leaders in agroforestry education and training.