Using sequential planting techniques

Sequential planting is a practice where short-term crops are planted with, and eventually replaced by long-term trees, is a system that enables farmers to invest for the future while making a return in the present.

The advantages of sequential planning including: (a) greater efficiency in land use (less land area is fallow while tree crops mature); (b) increased efficiency in labor (because crop maintenance can overlap); (c) enhanced farm diversity; (d) increased total yields over time; (e) greater stability, both environmental and economic; and (f) long-term investment made economically viable through short-term yields.

Examples of sequential planting systems include: (a) Planting long-term timber trees into pasture, coffee, or orchards (some of these systems are sequential; others are designed to be stable over time); (b) Planting orchard trees into pineapple fields or annual gardens, and (c) Cultivating annual or short-term crops under forestry plantings until the forest canopy closes (also known as the Taungya system).

crops planted together should not have harmful effects on one another, and rooting habits should be understood so plants are compatible and not overly competitive for nutrients and space in the short-term. Planning should also determine how long the short-term crop can be expected to bear until the long-term crop takes over by shading or root competition.