SOCIO-ECONOMIC CLASSIFICATION :

Based on socioeconomic criteria as scale of production and level of technology input and management, agroforestry systems have been grouped in to three categories.

A) Commercial AF systems:
The term commercial is used whenever the scale of the production of the output is the  major aim of the system.
  Examples:
a) Commercial production of plantation crops such as rubber, oilpalm, and coconut  with permanent underplanting of  food crops, pastures
b) Commercial production shade tolerating plantation crops such as coffee, tea and cocoa under overstorey of shade trees

B) Intermediate AF systems:
Intermediate systems are those between commercial and subsistence scale of production and management.
 Examples:
Production of perennial cash crops and subsistence food crops undertaken on farms wherein the cash crops fulfill the cash  needs and the food crops meet the family‘s food needs.

C) Subsistence AF systems:
Subsistence AF systems are those wherein the use of land is directed towards satisfying basic needs and is managed mostly by the owner and his family