An overwhelming 43 per cent of the world’s agricultural land includes some form of agroforestry, according to a new study by the World Agroforestry Centre.

In 2010 agroforestry (defined as tree cover of at least 10 per cent) was practiced on more than 1 billion hectares by more than 900 million people.

Over an 11 year period, agroforestry has expanded the most in Latin America followed by South Asia. The study found that agroforestry has however decreased in Northern and Central Asia.

The study is an update of a working paper released in 2009 which was the first to analyze agroforestry on a global scale. It profiles the extent and characteristics of agroforestry around the world.

Download the study: Trees on Farms: An Update and Reanalysis of Agroforestry's Global Extent and Socio-ecological Characteristics