Numerous reports have emphasized the need for major changes in the global food system: agriculture must meet the twin challenge of feeding a growing population, with rising demand for meat and high-calorie diets, while simultaneously minimizing its global environmental impacts. Organic farming—a system aimed at producing food with minimal harm to ecosystems, animals or humans—is often proposed as a solution.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the largest among three major carbon pools of global ecosystems. During the past few years, global warming and forcible land-use changes have resulted in a huge loss of this major carbon pool and as a consequence, concentration of atmospheric CO2 has increased. To mitigate the potential risks arising from atmospheric abundance of CO2, adoption of carbon sequestration strategies at different landscape scales is a major option. For this

Carrying capacity (CC) in the context of Indian agriculture, denotes the number of people and livestock an area can support on a sustainable basis. CC is dynamic in nature, varying from time to time based on utilization of resources, technology application and
management. In India, rainfed agriculture occupies nearly 58% of the cultivated area, contributes 40% of country’s food production, and supports 40% of the human and 60% of the livestock population.

Agriculture continues to be the predominant component of the national economy and a principal means of livelihood for two thirds of country's population living in the rural areas. Hence, it occupies central stage in the Indian economy and the Government of India places high priority on reducing poverty by raising agricultural productivity.

A study of the socio-economic situations of three villages in north-eastern Andhra Pradesh shows that while times and values have vastly changed, not much has been transformed in terms of privileges and opportunities. Those belonging to landowning families have managed to get a good education and secure good jobs or set up businesses. But those from the landless or marginal landowning families and communities have been left far behind. The government’s schemes and promises have more often than not yielded very little.

Based on the traditional wisdom of the tree based farming systems followed since ages across the world, scientific community intervened to harness full benefits of agroforestry land use system and address global issues of land degradation and agricultural sustainability.