Intercropping is a multiple cropping practice that involves the cultivation of two or more crops simultaneously on the same field. In the case of the project, it involves utilising the rows between the trees to grow food crops.
Intercropping or co-planting provides the opportunity for Landowners to expand food gardens by accessing areas utilising biomass infrastructure. It is the intention of the project team to ensure that local villages are able to expand their food and cash crop and traditional operations where possible, with co-planting of food crops to provide the community with increased food security and additional revenue streams where they can take crops to market for additional income.
Trials on co-planting have already been conducted with melons, cucumbers, rice, cassava, yam, peanuts and other food crops that have been highly successful and resulted in additional supply for markets creating additional value and early cash flow for the landowners.