NITI Aayog unveiled the Greening and Restoration of Wasteland with Agroforestry (GROW) report | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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    NITI Aayog unveiled the Greening and Restoration of Wasteland with Agroforestry (GROW) report

    Posted 16 Feb 2024

    Updated 22 Mar 2024

    2 min read

    • Report emphasizes potential of converting wastelands into productive agroforestry zones. 
      • It employed remote sensing and GIS techniques to evaluate the suitability of agroforestry practices across all districts of India and introduced an Agroforestry Suitability Index (ASI) for national-level prioritization.
      • NITI Aayog also launched “GROW-Suitability Mapping” portal on Bhuvan (a geoportal of ISRO) for ensuring universal access to state and district-level data. 
    • Wastelands are lands which are unproductive, unfit for cultivation, grazing and other economic uses. 
      • According to Wasteland Atlas of India 2019, wastelands constitute 16.96% of geographical area of India in 2015-16
    • Agroforestry is a collective name for land-use systems where trees are managed together with crops and/or animal production systems in agricultural settings. 
      • Presently, agroforestry covers 8.65% of India's total geographical area. 
      • Three main types:
        • Agrisilvicultural systems are a combination of crops and trees.
        • Silvopastoral systems combine forestry and grazing of domesticated animals on pastures or on-farm.
        • Agrosylvopastoral systems where trees, animals and crops can be integrated.
           
    • Significance of Agroforestry
      • Mitigating climate change through microclimate moderation and carbon sequestration
      • Enhancing productivity, soil fertility and conserving soil
      • Optimizing use of arable land
    • Tags :
    • GROW
    • Agroforestry
    • Wasteland
    • Agroforestry Suitability Index (ASI)
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