Commonly a relative yield advantage (‘overyield’) is obtained from a polyculture system versus a monoculture system.
An overview is given here of the annual production of a small scale Philippine polyculture farmer using every possible resource available to him, including vertical as well as horizontal space.
| Crop | Annual yields in kgs.(416 sq.mt. plot) | Equivalent yields (kgs. per hectare) |
|---|---|---|
| Upper storey | ||
| Banana | 186 | 4,471 |
| Papaya | 195 | 4,687 |
| Third storey | ||
| Cassava | 184 | 4,423 |
| Maize | 125 | 3,005 |
| Sugar cane | 210 | 5,048 |
| Okra | 24 | 577 |
| Second storey | ||
| Taro | 200 | 4,808 |
| Arrowroot | 50 | 1,202 |
| Chile Pepper | 8 | 192 |
| Ground layer | ||
| Swamp Cabbage | 200 | 4,808 |
| Sweet Potato | 600 | 14,423 |
| Squash | 75 | 1,803 |
| Total | 2,057 | 49,447 |
This production was accomplished without the use of any insecticides, hybrid seeds, irrigation or mechanical farm implements and only a small amount of chicken manure was used. Compared with the average production of small-scale rainfed rice/mungbean cultivation (1.3 tons/ha for traditional varieties; 1.4 tons/ha for hybrid cultivars) this is very high. Although these figures are not totally comparable they give a clear indication that polyculture greatly out produces its monocultural counterparts, even those with ‘Green Revolution’ inputs. Most cereal-legume based polycultures and agroforestry systems found throughout the tropics are examples of ‘overyielding’ polycultures.
Source : ‘Return to the Good Earth’, Third World Network