On-farm trees and improved forest management by smallholders can increase farm income through the production and marketing of high-value tree and non-timber forest products. We know that there are constraints to investment in trees including the time-lag between investment and return, and the paucity of evidence for the return on investment for tree promotion and associated intensification of smallholder systems.

Our key hypothesis is that there are high returns to investing in trees and forest management that represent an investment in ecological infrastructure (such as root systems, tree architecture, forest habitat and soil carbon) that delivers high value products (from timber and fruits to mushrooms), in a sustainable way because they are produced together with other ecosystem services.

This research priority will deliver evidence for the return on investment in market-based agroforestry in Ethiopia, Indonesia, Uganda, Vietnam and Zambia, together with a synthesis across these cases which sets out an evidence base for investment in trees, quantitative examples of success (including financial and ecological performance), and practical strategies for overcoming the time-lag between investment and returns.