Billion Agave Project - Regeneration International (original) (raw)

A pioneering group of Mexican farmers are transforming their landscape and their livelihoods. How? By densely planting (1600-2500 per hectare), pruning, and intercropping a fast-growing, high-biomass, high forage-yielding species of agaves among pre-existing (500 per hectare) deep-rooted, nitrogen-fixing tree species (such as mesquite), or among planted tree seedlings.

When the agaves are 3 years old, and for the following 5 - 7 years, farmers can prune the leaves or pencas, chop them up finely with a machine, and then ferment the agave in closed containers for 30 days, ideally combining the agave leaves with 20% of leguminous pods and branches by volume to give them a higher protein level. In Guanajuato, mesquite trees start to produce pods that can be harvested in 5 years. By year 7, the mesquite and agaves have grown into a fairly dense forest. In year 8 - 10, the root stem or pina (weighing between 100-200 pounds) of the agave is ready for harvesting to produce a distilled liquor called mescal. Meanwhile the hijuelos (or pups) put out by the mother agave plants are being continuously transplanted back into the agroforestry system, guaranteeing continuous biomass growth (and carbon storage).

In this agroforesty, system farmers avoid overgrazing by integrating rotational grazing of their livestock across their rangelands. They feed their animals by supplementing pasture forage with fermented agave silage.