Performance of Tree Crop-Based Systems
Tropical perennial crop development relied for a long time on increasing productivity, particularly in commercial plantations, but also and above all on extending the areas planted, primarily low-yielding smallholdings. This type of development is now less attractive, due to a lack of available land and concerns about the need to preserve the environment.
The unit is thus working to generate knowledge and tools that will enable growers to optimize their cropping systems, from an agronomic, economic and environmental point of view. It compares crop management methods in order to establish performance indicators and models, assess the environmental impact of different systems, determine the agroeconomic constraints and recommend crop management sequences. Its research is currently centring on the agronomic and socioeconomic aspects of how farms operate, and on their environmental impact. This should result in a standard list of the environmental factors that affect productivity, along with agroenvironmental indicators applicable to cropping systems.