Supporting farmers online: INTACT tool

Supporting farmers online with a user-friendly decision support tool: introducing the INTeractive Agroforestry Cost-benefit Analysis Tool (INTACT)

Oral presentation – EURAF2024 – 28-31 May 2024 – Brno

MSc Sarah Carton¹, MSc Julian Rahahleh², Dr. ir. Bert Reubens^1
1 ILVO, Merelbeke, Belgium
² Bodemkundige Dienst van België, Leuven, Belgium

Introduction
The transition of traditional farming systems toward agroforestry is a long-term project for which the
cost-benefit analysis is a laborious task assigned to experts who face complex calculations with multiple
components including trees, crops, and animals in one farming system. Ideally, agroforestry farmers should be equipped with user-friendly tools for calculating costs and benefits related to the tree component of their new agroforestry plan. Hence, the INTeractive Agroforestry Cost-benefit Tool (INTACT) has been developed as a strategic solution to guide the users through the relevant tree and shrub-related costs and benefits that can be expected while implementing agroforestry in Belgium and the Netherlands. INTACT is the newest addition to the Agroforestry Planner3, which is an online toolkit consisting of several agroforestry decision support tools, created by partners of the Consortium Agroforestry Flanders.
INTACT is a product that is based on several existing agroforestry models1,2,4,5 and other sources of information with recent key figures7, such as catalogs from tree nurseries. INTACT consists of a separate cost and benefits module of which the structure was furthermore co-developed based on expert advice from stakeholders within the Consortium Agroforestry Flanders’ network. For the cost module, five important categories were determined: 1) The purchase of trees and shrubs, 2) Terrain and planting preparation costs, 3) Tree protection costs, 4) Tree management costs, and 5) Harvesting costs. In addition, the benefits module covers 3 categories including the expected freshly harvested fruit and nut yield according to the chosen trees and shrubs. After navigating through both the cost and benefits
modules, the final screen will show a cost-benefit analysis over 20 years based on the user’s input. In this way, INTACT can specifically offer a partial analysis focusing on the financial impact of the trees (crops and animals are not included in INTACT). However, it is important to stress that INTACT is not intended for an integrated business economic analysis nor for replacing guidance tailored to specific business situations.

Methodology
INTACT was developed using Oracle’s web application building technology (APEX) which combines visually appealing interface design with responsive database actions, resulting in real-time processing of user input. APEX is a versatile tool that runs on any modern web browser and can be used on different screen sizes from desktops to laptops or tablet devices.
It is important to stress that user-friendliness was an important determinant for the design of INTACT.
INTACT features no max-value constraints on any input field in the web application and, as no fields are
mandatory, the users can navigate between the different steps without restrictions regarding the provided input. This gives the users the freedom to experiment and to create a scenario that reflects the project they have in mind. If the users aim for an all-inclusive, detailed, and logical cost-benefit analysis, they should provide as much detailed information as possible about their project.

Preliminary results
The steps in INTACT correspond with the aforementioned cost and benefit categories taken into consideration when constructing a cost-benefit analysis of an agroforestry project. To illustrate, Figure 1 shows the first cost category in INTACT. In this step, the users need to specify which tree species they want to plant to calculate the total cost of trees and shrubs.
Figure 1: Input screen for step ‘Purchasing trees’; the users can choose which tree(s) they want to use in
their agroforestry system including adjusting tree specifications including the stem circumference.
In the following steps, the users have to make other cost-related choices related to terrain modifications, planting trees, mulching, tree support and protection materials, and maintenance operations.
Harvest-related costs for nuts are calculated by the tool MIMOSA which is available at the Agroforestry
Planner3. At the end of the cost module, the user receives an overview of the total costs of their agroforestry project (Fig. 2).
Figure 2: Overview of costs related to an agroforestry project.

Next, the benefit module shows an overview of fresh fruit and nut yield. For wood yield, tree growth curves2,6 were used and multiplied by the most current timber prices. Potential income from derived products or processed wood products is not included yet in INTACT 1.0. Finally, INTACT creates a comparison of those costs against the benefits made from the trees.

Conclusion
For the development of INTACT, it was important to create an interactive and user-friendly tool that assists in considering the majority of aspects of investment and maintenance costs, as well as expected income from trees and shrubs in an agroforestry system. In this way, INTACT aims to support farmers online by offering a clear framework of costs and benefits that are relevant to trees, i.e. crucial elements in new agroforestry projects. After INTACT 1.0 is launched, more research will be conducted to test INTACT’s accuracy with realized agroforestry plans and to further improve user-friendliness.

Acknowledgement
The DigitAF project is supported by the European Union Horizon programme (101059794).

Keywords
agroforestry system planning, decision-making, farmers’ decision making, Agroforestry, decision tool, business models, Cost-benefit analysis

Bibliography
– Bijl, M. & Forestry Service Group (FSG) (2021). AFP Model (Model 5) [Dataset].
– CARAT development team (2023). CARAT: an online tool for quantifying carbon sequestration in agroforestry systems, developed in collaboration with BDB, ILVO and Fornalab, Belgium.
– Consortium Agroforestry Vlaanderen. (n.d.). Agroforestry Planner. Retrieved December 19, 2023, from https://bdbnet.bdb.be/pls/apex/f?p=147:11
– De Jaeger, L. (2022). Berekentool voor Voedselbossen (Version V280922) [Dataset].
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– McPherson, E. G., Van Doorn, N. S., & Peper, P. J. (2016). Urban Tree Database [Dataset]. In Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/rds-2016-0005
– van Raffe, J. K., & de Jong, J. J. (2020). Normenboek natuur, bos en landschap 2020: Tijd- en kostennormen voor inrichting en beheer van natuurterreinen, bossen en landschapselementen. Wageningen Environmental Research.

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