NbS Triple Win Toolkit: Economics and Finance 70 Agroforestry Description of intervention Agroforestry is a collective name for land-use systems and technologies where woody perennials (trees, shrubs, palms, bamboos, etc.) are deliberately used on the same land-management units as agricultural crops and animals, in some form of spatial arrangement or temporal sequence76. Agroforestry is an alternative to conventional agriculture, and can increase productivity, carbon sequestration, provide income and livelihood benefits, and decrease the need for pesticides and fertilisers. Monetised benefits Carbon sequestration and GHG emissions avoided Increased crop yields Increased incomes Benefit-cost ratios and cost effectiveness evidence The range of benefit-cost ratios reported is between 2 (around the Niger Basin) and 30 (Brazil) where the upper range is driven by the social cost of carbon. Trees in croplands or cover crops can also provide low cost ($10[USD] – $20t/CO2e[USD]) climate mitigation potential, albeit the total cost-effective potential is much less than avoiding deforestation, reforestation, peatland or mangrove impacts and is concentrated in fewer countries such as India and Mexico69. Agroforestry can provide simultaneous benefits for climate change adaptation for local communities by providing resilient livelihoods, climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration, and biodiversity. Notably, whilst globally communities may benefit from GHG emission reductions, in the absence of markets these do not translate into immediate local financial returns. Therefore, analyses likely understate local opportunity costsand willingness to adopt such practices76. Non-monetised benefits Food security Water security Reduced vulnerability to pests, diseases, droughts, and otherclimate-related risks Climate change adaptation Reduced pollution Spiritual and cultural benefits Maintenance of local knowledge Shade provision Soil erosion prevention, soil nutrient cycling and soil biodiversity protection Increased habitat for wildlife Further discussion Agroforestry deals directly with provisioning services in the form of crops for market (e.g., shade-grown cocoa or coffee) or for subsistence (e.g., home gardens). The use of agroforestry techniques can be applied to other forms of agriculture, supporting productivity and yields through nitrogen fixation, supporting nutrient cycling and soil health, or actingas physical protection in the form of wind breaks or soil stabilisation77. These techniques require significant investment in terms of labour, knowledge, technology and time in order to see benefits accrue as trees reach maturity. Timescales and the discount rate are therefore critical components of the cost-effectiveness analysis – both private and social payback periods may be longer. With heavier investment and potentially longer payback periods, farmers may be unwillingin certain circumstances to implement agroforestry78.