This can best be accomplished by the creation of an internationally

financed council for research in agroforestry, to administer a comprehensive

programme leading to better land use in the tropics.
The report went on to suggest that the objectives of such a council should be the
encouragement and support of research in agroforestry; the acquisition and
dissemination
of information on agroforestry systems; and the promotion of better land use in the
developing countries of the tropics.
It recommended that the specific objectives of the proposed council might be:
1. To assemble and assess existing information concerning agroforestry systems in
the
tropics and to identify important gaps in knowledge;
2. To encourage, support, and co-ordinate research and extension projects in
agroforestry
in different ecological zones, aimed primarily at filling such gaps;
3. To support research that seeks to identify and/ or improve tree species
currently
underused with respect to wood and/ or non-wood products, to enhance the economic
value and productivity of agroforestry systems;
4. To support research on agroforestry systems that will bring greater economic and
social benefit to rural peoples without detriment to the environment; and
5. To encourage training in agroforestry and in the science of the tree species
that form
part of agroforestry systems.
The report advised that in order to attain these objectives, the activities of the
council
might include:
1. The collection, evaluation, cataloguing and dissemination of information
relevant to
agroforestry;
2. The organization and convening of seminars and working groups to collect,
discuss,
evaluate and disseminate information concerning agroforestry;
3. The promotion of teaching of the principles of agroforestry at all levels of the
education
system;
4. The encouragement of the orientation of forestry and agricultural teaching so
that they
make a stronger contribution to better land use; and
5. The demonstration, publication, and dissemination of research results and other
relevant information.
It was apparent that, despite the growing awareness of the need for factual
information
on which agroforestry systems might be effectively based, very little research was
being
undertaken. The research that was being conducted was haphazard, unplanned and
unco-ordinated. The IDRC Project Report therefore recommended the establishment of
an internationally financed organization, now known as the International Council
for
Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), which would support, plan and co-ordinate, on a
world-wide basis, research in combined land-management systems of agriculture and
forestry.
This proposal was generally well received by international and bilateral agencies
and, at
a meeting of potential donors and other interested agencies in November 1976, a
steering
committee was appointed to consider the establishment of the proposed Council in
further
detail.
The Steering Committee met in Amsterdam early in April and again in June 1977. It
decided to proceed with the establishment of ICRAF along the lines proposed in the
Bene/IDRC Report. It approved a draft charter for ICRAF and elected a Board of