Guntur: Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the International Centre for Research in Agro Forestry (ICRAF) organised a five-day master trainers training pro-gramme on Trees Outside Forests (TOF) in collaboration with Vignan’s University on the university premises from January 21. The training programme will conclude on Saturday.

The initiative is aimed at promoting agroforestry and equipping participants with knowledge on sustainable farming, suitable tree species and carbon credits.

The programme was divided into two phases. Phase one includes a five-day training session, with four days of classroom instruction followed by a field visit to hi-tech nurseries and demonstration plots at Vignan University. More than 60 participants attended, including officials from the Departments of Horticulture and DRDA, as well as representatives from several NGOs, Farmer Producer Organi-zations (FPOs), Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and progressive farmers.

In phase two, the trained master trainers will conduct one-day training sessions at the village level, targeting over 5,000 farmers across the district to promote agrofor-estry practices.

Prof T Ramesh Babu, Dean (SAFT) of Vignan’s University, Sarath Babu, NABARD DDM Guntur and Palnadu, DRDA project director Vijayalakshmi, and N Sailesh, TOFI pro-gramme State coordinator attended. The event was coor-dinated by Praneeth Varma, TOFI State associate.