Nairobi, Kenya – The World Agroforestry Centre announces its congress taking place in February 2014 in Delhi in association with the Indian Council on Agricultural Research. The congress aims to accelerate the contribution that trees can make to world development.

The Congress will attract 1200 participants, drawn from the private sector, NGOs, policy makers and stakeholders all looking to share the current state of knowledge and accelerate the positive financial, environmental and social impacts of agroforestry. It will create conditions for these stakeholders to engage effectively in discussions that answer the question "How can agroforestry make a difference?"

Using trees in a new global agriculture will shape a better future. This global congress will accelerate the use of trees in agriculture to meet the food needs of a burgeoning world population. WCA will showcase the most recent and significant work on agroforestry, and aims to deliver state-of-the-art analysis, inspiring visions and innovative research methods arising from interdisciplinary research.

Agroforestry has the opportunity to transform lives and our environment as trees play a fundamental role in almost all the Earth's ecosystems and provide a range of benefits to rural and urban people. Landscapes without trees can quickly erode into barren, unproductive expanses. As well as bringing many environmental benefits, adding trees to agriculture can be highly profitable, producing valuable fruit, fodder, oil, timber, medicinals and fuels, as well as valuable commodities such as coffee, cocoa and rubber.

Public-private sector partnerships established at WCA give both parties a chance to sustainably increase yields and accomplish greater returns for both the farmers and corporate actors. Few of the 9 billion people who will be around in 2050 will be able to live sustainably without relying in a significant way on trees. The clock is ticking, and WCA is ahead of the game.

"The Congress will produce a global roadmap for agroforestry in the context of world development," said Dr Tony Simons, Director General of the World Agroforestry Centre. "For 2014 we want a whole different type of event and experience that will leave a deliberate and tangible legacy in terms of recognition, partnerships, investments and impact."