The economics of agroforestry with pine and pasture in the 500 to 700 mm annual rainfall zone of Western Australia

Abstract

This study mainly compares the economics of one form of agroforestry (involving the simultaneous use of land for pine sawlog, sheep, wool and hay production) with conventional agriculture (sheep and wool production) in the 500 and 700 mm annual rainfall zone of Western Australia. The region is marked by environmental problems, particularly soil and water salinity, owing to past extensive clearly of indigenous deep-rooted vegetation for agriculture. Agroforestry can be a way to control and ameliorate the problems.

The major conclusion is that pine agroforestry can be more profitable in the long term than conventional agriculture. It would be a profitable way to control and ameliorate the environmental problems in the region. It would also generate other benefits. A number of measures can be adopted to reduce or avert any problems arising from agroforestry's annual net returns (which fluctuate and are negative for most years before log sales) and annual labour requirements (which vary over time and are generally higher than those for agriculture for about the first half of the agroforestry rotation). These measures include using a low tree density and converting only part of a farm to agroforestry so that the activity is practised in combination with conventional agriculture.

The study concerns a region with a Mediterranean climate so that the principles and findings of the study could be of particular relevance to other similar regions of the world.