AgroforestrySystems 17: 65--86, 1992. © 1992 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. An economic analysis of improved agroforestry practices in the Amazon lowlands of Ecuador A. RAMIREZ, C. SERt~ AND J. UQUILLAS Economics Section, Tropical Pastures Program, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, CIA T, Apartado Adreo 6713, Cali, Colombia in cooperation with Fundaci6n para el Desarrollo Agropecuario del Ecuador, FUNDAGRO, Casilla No. 219, Suc. 16 CEQ, Quito, Ecuador Key words: Amazon, agroforestry, tropical rainforests, land use, economic analysis, on-farm research, shifting cultivation Abstract. Since 1985, Ecuador's Ministry of Agriculture has undertaken a demonstration project to promote improved agroforestry practices in already cleared lands of Ecuador's Amazon lowlands to promote regeneration of deforested areas. An important expected outcome of this project is to ameliorate growing population pressures on remaining national forests and natural reserves. These practices include managing natural regeneration of market- able timber trees intercropped to Coffea canephora var. robusta and grass-legume associa- tions, using adequate techniques of coffee pruning, and planting Desmodium ovalifolium CIAT 350 as a ground cover crop or a forage legume in paddocks of the genus Brachiaria. This research was conducted to assess the potential economic impact of such a strategy and to feed back information on research and policy issues. Improved agroforestry practices in this region are not only technically practicable but also economically feasible. Proposed technologies enhance long-term productivity of both land and labor while saving on external inputs and hired labor, making on-going systems more adopt- able and sustainable. Future land-use policies should consider on-farm primary forest pre- servation and controlled natural regeneration of high-value timber in secondary forests as socially efficient land-use patterns. Future research must address germplasm of grass and forage legumes both shade tolerant, and less field management-demanding than current ones. To have a lasting effect this technology should probably be incorporated into a Regional Forest Management Plan, for sustainable production at the secondary forests created with agroforestry technology. Resumen Desde 1985, el Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadeffa del Ecuador ha promovido prdcticas mejoradas agroforestales en las ~reas abiertas por la colonizaci6n de la selva baja amaz6nica. Estas prficticas incluyen el manejo de la regeneraci6n natural de especies de madera tropical en sistemas agrosilvopastoriles, con plantaciones de car6 robusta (Coffea canephora var. robusta) y asociaciones de gramineas del gdnero Brachiaria, y leguminosas forrajeras como Desmodium ovalifolium CIAT 350. Esta investigaci6n se orient6 a evaluar ex-ante la viabilidad tdcnica y factibilidad econ6mica de estas pr~icticas. Se encontr6 que las tecnolog[as agroforestales propuestas promueven la productividad de cada componente del sistema en el largo plazo y ahorran mano de obra e insumos comprados (herbicidas e insecticidas). Esto hace los sistemas m~is sostenibles y atractivos para su adopci6n por los colonos. Se requiere en el futuro que la legislaci6n vigente sobre uso de tierras considere la preservaci6n del bosque primario y la regeneraci6n natural de especies forestales de valor comercial en bosque secundario de las fincas de colonos, como formas