Planting local trees, shrubs, vines and ground covers in protected areas and on farm borders can benefit farmers immensely. The farmers can get an extra income from efficiently using normally unutilized wastelands and boundaries.

Growing diverse crops together provides the following benefits -

• Controlling Wind and Water Erosion
  It helps hold the soil in place along with valuable soil organic matter and nutrients.
• Evaporation Rates
  It reduces soil evaporation rates, keeping more moisture available for plant use.
• Soil Temperatures
  It helps soils maintain a more moderate range of soil temperatures, keeping it warmer in cold weather and cooler in hot weather. The soil food web also functions best when soil temperatures are moderate throughout the year.
• Compaction
  A field covered with diverse plants reduces the impact of intense rainfall on the topsoil by slowing the raindrops down, thus preventing its shearing. Instead, the controlled falling of raindrops due to plant cover causes even compaction, helping the Earth immensely.
• Suppressed Weed Growth
  It limits the sunlight available to weed seedlings, thus encouraging the creation of natural habitats for pollinators, honey bees, birds, butterflies and soil microbes.