Teak (Tectona grandis), fruit trees and other perennials used by hill farmers of northern Laos

Hilly topography and inaccessible markets leave limited alternatives for Lao upland farmers who grow rice in slash-and-burn systems. They plant banana, mango, papaya, coconut and other perennials and collect forest products, specially bamboo shoot, banana inflorescence, rattan, cardamom, and benzoin for home consumption and market. Teak is the most important perennial planted on upland fields but farmers having teak are more likely to belong to the lowland ethnic groups and own lowland rice fields. Farmers preferred teak over fruit trees and coffee because of the better market potential and 82% considered cash income or wood for construction and 18% the securing of land tenure as major reasons for planting teak. Insufficient financial resources, non-availability of land, lack of seedlings, lack of labor and lack of experience were regarded as the main reasons for not planting teak by 41, 39, 35, 28 and 13% of non-teak growers, respectively. Plantations are often interplanted with rice for the first 1–3 years. Resource-poor families generally cannot risk the long-term investments and credit or modified systems combining food, livestock, and timber production are necessary to allow them to take part in the potentially lucrative teak production.     

Growing Cloned Teak Seedlings for Small-Scale Farmers in Costa Rica

This paper investigates the profitability of cloned teak seedlings among small-scale farmers in the Canton of Hojancha in Costa Rica. A survey was conducted among small-scale farmers to explore their opinions regarding tree breeding. Most respondents considered that the use of improved seedling material is profitable and their willingness to plant clones in the future was high. The net present value of teak plantations at a 5% discount rate was estimated to be USD 12,330, USD 12,814, USD 14,284 and USD 14,308 per hectare for four non-genetically modified seedling plantations. According to a sensitivity analysis, the profitability of a teak plantation based on non-genetically modified seedlings is more sensitive to changes in timber prices than to changes in silvicultural costs. Investment in clone planting appears potentially highly profitable. With interest rates of 5 and 3%, it was profitable to plant clones if only 1% of genetic gain in volume was achieved and if the price of the clones was not greater than 50% of non-genetically modified seedlings.     

Adoption of mucuna in the farming systems of northern Honduras

In many parts of Central America long fallow periods are no longer feasible due to increasing land pressures. Farmers in northern Honduras have developed and diffused from farmer-to-farmer a maize cropping system using velvetbean (Mucuna spp.) as a short-term fallow. High total annual rainfall in a bimodal distribution is favorable to the system because it allows the completion of two rainfed cropping cycles annually. The first season is dedicated to the production of the mucuna crop and the second season is dedicated to maize. Soil pH and exchangeable Ca were not reduced during a 15-year period of continuous mucuna use. Soil organic matter, infiltration, and porosity increased with continuous mucuna use. Maize yields in fields with continuous rotation of mucuna were on average double those obtained without mucuna. The mucuna system was more profitable than the existing alternative bush-fallow system due to higher returns to land and labor resulting from higher yields, lower weeding and land preparation costs, and reduced risk of drought stress. The relative profitability of the mucuna system was also enhanced by seasonally high maize prices during the second season when maize is harvested in the mucuna system. Relatively easy access to land through inexpensive land ownership and land rental markets has made it possible for even small-scale farmers to dedicate land to the mucuna system. Land-use intensity is increasing in the region, however, as land is converted to pastures for cattle production. The opportunity costs of keeping land in the mucuna system, while also accessing land for first-season maize and other crops, are also increasing. These experiences remind us that a viable livelihood is the primary factor in farmers' decision making about adoption particular components of farming systems.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Smallholder Teak and Agrarian Change in Northern Laos

Smallholder teak (Tectona grandis) plantations have become increasingly prominent in the landscape of Luang Prabang Province, Lao PDR. While the global market for teak-wood is attractive, investment has been driven by a range of factors, including changes to land legislation, land-use planning, taxation incentives, and government and non-government programs and promotions. The establishment of teak stands provides a labour-saving land use for households, potentially freeing up household resources for other farm and non-farm opportunities. However, the degree to which households can participate in the industry varies within and between villages. This paper reviews some of the underlying incentives for the expansion of teak plantations, examines the livelihood activities of both teak and non-teak producers in five case study villages in Luang Prabang, and explores the differential outcomes emerging from the expansion of smallholder teak production. The survey revealed that teak planting has been more extensive among households with a longer history of settlement, where the household head is older and better educated, where household members have off-farm sources of income, and where the household has access to paddy land and is thus more likely to be self-sufficient in rice. Households that depend on shifting cultivation for their livelihoods, without access to alternative productive land or income sources, will continue to have difficulty planting teak or holding on to the land they do manage to plant. The paper concludes that the establishment and improvement of teak plantations, like other apparently technical interventions aimed at providing a ‘pathway out of poverty’, need to be seen in the context of wider processes of agrarian change and differentiation to appreciate the resultant impacts on livelihood trajectories.     

Financial evaluation of smallholder timber-based agroforestry systems in Claveria, Northern Mindanao, the Philippines

In the Philippines, timber production on small farms has become profitable as a result of reduced supplies due to extensive deforestation and increasing demand. In the early 1990s, when the price of timber was high, farmers were promised huge returns from tree farming. However, widespread planting of few species has led to oversupply and a sharp decline in the price of farm-grown timber. Moreover, low intercrop yields as a result of competition from fast-growing trees and low timber yields due to poor tree management, further reduce net economic returns. In spite of this, interest in tree farming remains high. This paper examines the private profitability of two tree-maize systems, namely trees in blocks and trees in hedgerows, compared with the alternative of maize monocropping. The analysis reveals that maize monocropping provides higher returns to land at the current timber price, but considerably lower returns to labour, than the maize-tree systems tested. This suggests that tree farming is a more attractive option for labour and capital-constrained households or those with off-farm opportunities that compete for their labour. These farmers may raise productivity and income by planting trees on the excess land that cannot be devoted to annual crops. The analysis also indicates that wide-spaced tree hedgerows are superior to tree blocks, due to lower establishment and management costs, longer periods of viable intercropping and more rapid tree growth.     

Avoiding the loss of shade coffee plantations: how to derive conservation payments for risk-averse land-users

We usually have only limited knowledge about the economic consequences of land-use decisions, thus they are uncertain. We analyze the implications of this uncertainty on conservation payments (CP) to preserve wildlife-friendly shade coffee production in southwest Ecuador, when conversion to maize is the most profitable alternative. Our objective is twofold: First, we analyze the consequences of applying Stochastic Dominance (SD) to derive CP, an approach making only minimal assumptions about the preferences of farmers. Second, we investigate the effects of land-use diversification to reduce CP by allowing for shade coffee on part of a landholding, and maize production on what remains. CP derived by SD turned out to be at least twice the amount calculated by an alternative method which maximizes a concave utility function—US$ 166 to US$ 294 ha^?1 year^?1 instead of US$ 86 ha^?1 year^?1. Given this result, we doubt that the assumptions underlying SD are reasonable for farmers, who are known to be risk-averse. Allowing for land-use diversification has a significant impact on CP. The optimal portfolio share of shade coffee is 27 % and for maize 73 % for moderately risk-averse farmers—without any CP. A larger share of shade coffee is preferable for strongly risk-averse farmers—51 and 49 % maize. The amount of CP necessary to encourage the expansion of shade coffee to 75 % is US$ 40 ha^?1 year^?1 (for moderately risk-averse) and US$ 19 ha^?1 year^?1 (for strongly risk-averse farmers). Stimulating diversification may thus help to significantly reduce CP necessary to preserve less profitable agroforestry options.     

Combinations of trees and crops in the taungya method as applied in Thailand

In Thailand the taungya reforestation method has been practiced primarily in order to rehabilitate wasteland, particularly under the Forest Village Programme. While various combinations of trees and crops are found in the taungya method on a minor scale, the major combinations are teak with upland rice in the north, fast-growing trees with cassava in the northeast, fast-growing trees with maize in the west, and para-rubber or fast-growing trees with fruit trees in the south. These combinations relate to the differences in climatic conditions, mainly the duration of the rainy season.     

Combinations of trees and crops in the taungya method as applied in Thailand

In Thailand the taungya reforestation method has been practiced primarily in order to rehabilitate wasteland, particularly under the Forest Village Programme. While various combinations of trees and crops are found in the taungya method on a minor scale, the major combinations are teak with upland rice in the north, fast-growing trees with cassava in the northeast, fast-growing trees with maize in the west, and para-rubber or fast-growing trees with fruit trees in the south. These combinations relate to the differences in climatic conditions, mainly the duration of the rainy season.     

Cost-benefit analysis of alternative forms of hedgerow intercropping in the Philippine uplands

Considerable resources have been expended promoting hedgerow intercropping with shrub legumes to farmers in the Philippine uplands. Despite the resources committed to research and extension, persistent adoption by farmers has been limited to low cost versions of the technology including natural vegetation and grass strips. In this paper, cost-benefit analysis is used to compare the economic returns from traditional open-field maize farming with returns from intercropping maize between leguminous shrub hedgerows, natural vegetation strips and grass strips. An erosion/productivity model, Soil Changes Under Agroforestry, was used to predict the effect of erosion on maize yields. Key informant surveys with experienced maize farmers were used to derive production budgets for the alternative farming methods. The economic incentives revealed by the cost-benefit analysis help to explain the adoption of maize farming methods in the Philippine uplands. Open-field farming without hedgerows has been by far the most popular method of maize production, often with two or more fields cropped in rotation. There is little persistent adoption of hedgerow intercropping with shrub legumes because sustained maize yields are not realised rapidly enough to compensate farmers for establishment and maintenance costs. Natural vegetation and grass strips are more attractive to farmers because of lower establishment costs, and provide intermediate steps to adoption. Rural finance, commodity pricing and agrarian reform policies influence the incentives for maize farmers in the Philippine uplands to adopt and maintain hedgerow intercropping. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Drivers of adoption of eucalypt tree farming by smallholders in Thailand

Eucalypt (Eucalyptus spp.) tree farming is a source of income for many smallholders in developing and emerging countries and critical to the resource supply of many pulp and paper companies. These companies rely on smallholders adopting tree farming, sometimes by offering a contract. This paper reports a study from four regions of Thailand, where smallholder eucalypt tree farming is important, which investigated what characteristics of smallholders were associated with greater adoption of tree farming. A total of 461 eucalypt tree farmers and 171 non-tree farmers were randomly selected and surveyed in these regions, using a door-to-door household survey. A logit analysis corroborated hypotheses about the drivers of adoption. Qualitative analyses were used to inform interpretation of the quantitative results and shed light on the role of eucalypt tree farming in smallholders’ livelihood. Results demonstrate that those with suitable land available are more likely to adopt eucalypt tree farming than others. In addition, perception of land tenure security matters in the adoption of tree growing, but holding a formal land tenure document does not. Adoption of eucalypt tree farming in Thailand is not part of a land use intensification strategy. Instead, eucalypts are used as an alternative crop for low productivity land, on which eucalypts are the most profitable crop. Eucalypt tree farming also gives smallholders an opportunity to diversify their income. In addition, this alternative land use has the advantage of requiring low labour inputs between planting and harvest. This is particularly advantageous for many tree growers who have off-farm income or rely on hired labour for farming their land.     

Socioeconomic Conditions Affecting Smallholder Timber Management in Gunungkidul District,Yogyakarta Special Region,Indonesia

Indonesia is one of the largest teak timber producers in the world. The Javanese State Forest Company has been a major producer of teak timber in Indonesia; however, log production decreased drastically due to severe illegal logging after the collapse of Suharto regime. In contrast, small-scale private forests (PFs) owned by local farmers have expanded and are expected to be a new source of teak timber. Long rotation is a critical factor in producing a larger diameter log with a higher heartwood proportion. However, harvest timing in PFs is traditionally decided based on individual farmers’ needs even if trees are still young and of small diameter. Therefore, traditional harvesting is an obstacle to producing high-quality teak timber. The objectives of this study are to (1) identify the household economies and PF management styles of local farmers, (2) characterize the local farmers who conduct traditional harvesting, and (3) suggest key considerations for PF policymaking. Key informant interviews and semi-structured interviews with local farmers were conducted in three villages in Gunungkidul district, Yogyakarta Special Region. The study identified the household economies, the ownership and management structures, and the traditional harvesting in PFs in the three villages, and reaffirmed diversity and complexity of PFs. It appears that PF management is influenced by topographic and socioeconomic conditions and differs widely across villages. Therefore, it is important to consider the diversity and complexity of PFs in PF policymaking.     

Why do farmers still grow corn on steep slopes in northwest Vietnam?

Intense cultivation of annual crops on steep slopes in northwest Vietnam has resulted in widespread and severe erosion. This has led to myriad problems including siltation of dams critical for hydroelectricity generation, and increasing levels of rural poverty due to declining crop yields. The solution to these problems is sustainable land management, in particular sloping land agricultural technologies. Our study focuses on defining, and finding solutions to, a second-order problem: that farmers are reluctant to adopt sustainable land management practices, despite numerous projects demonstrating their effectiveness. Interviews with farmers in northwest Vietnam confirmed that intense corn cultivation on steep slopes provided the majority of income for most households. The financial security associated with growing corn (compared to alternative crops) was the deciding factor in land management choices. However, interviews also revealed that farmers were dissatisfied with growing corn because of low income and high input costs. Farmers’ replies indicated that they thought they had no alternative to growing corn. However, farmers were aware of alternative crops, and were particularly interested in growing grass, fruit trees and timber trees, although few farmers were keen to be first to adopt these alternative species extensively. Further research is required on development of production-to-commercialization chains for alternative crops, and more generally, to find ways to increase farmer financial security during transition to sustainable land management.     

Live fences in Ségou, Mali : an evaluation by their early users

Market-oriented production of gardening crops and cassava (Manihot utilissima) in the dry season is an increasingly frequent practice in Ségou, Mali. Traditionally, these crops are protected from roaming livestock with the help of dead fences. In order to provide a sustainable alternative to dead fences, the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) began promoting the use of live fences, living trees planted closely together around a field plot. This study was conducted with the first farmers to use these live fences. These farmers expressed satisfaction with the protection offered by the trees and their ability to provide a variety of medicinal, economic, and food products. The form of land tenure, the social status of farmers within their families, and the availability of labour seem to be important factors in the decision to test the live fence. This raises questions about the accessibility of this technique and its possible contribution to the social and economic differentiation of its users. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The effect of coppiced teak regrowth on soil in a teak-maize agroforest

The effects on soil of canopy and roots of coppiced teak (Tectona grandis L.f.) regrowth in a maize-teak mixture were investigated experimentally by trenching and coppice shoot control. Nitrogen, potassium, magnesium and calcium content of soil were not significantly affected by either treatment throughout the first season of cropping the soil with maize. It is suggested that soil nutrient changes due to canopy or surface roots of coppiced teak regrowth are probably too small to influence the performance of intercropped maize in the first season following coppicing.     

The influence of coppiced teak (Tectona grandis L.F.) regrowth and roots on intercropped maize (Zea mays L.)

Trenching and shoot removal showed the relative influences of living roots and the canopy cast by teak (Tectona grandis L.F.) coppice regrowth on the growth and yield of interplanted maize (Zea mays L.). Teak and maize were planted at 1.8 × 1.8 m and 0.3 × 1.8 m spacing respectively.Competition for light started about four weeks after planting and caused etiolated height growth of maize. When combined with root competition it caused stunted growth. Shading also substantially reduced total dry matter production, grain yield, number of cobs per plant, average cob weight, and weight of grains per cob of maize (P<0.01). Living teak roots alone did not have a significant effect (P>0.05) on maize height growth, total dry matter production, grain yield, number of cobs per plant,average cob weight and weight of grains per cob. However, combined with shading, living roots of teak appreciably reduced total dry matter yield and average cob weight of maize (P<0.01).     

Sesbania sesban improved fallows in eastern Zambia: Their inception, development and farmer enthusiasm

In eastern Zambia, nitrogen deficiency is a major limiting factor for increased food production. Soil fertility has been declining because of nearly continuous maize (Zea mays) cultivation with little or no nutrient inputs. The use of short-duration tree fallows was one of several agroforestry options hypothesized to restore soil fertility. Sesbania sesban, an indigenous N₂-fixing tree was the most promising among species tested in screening trials. Several studies since 1987 have demonstrated the dramatic potential of two- or three-year sesbania fallows in restoring soil fertility and increasing maize yields. Analyses showed that these improved fallow systems were feasible, profitable, and acceptable to farmers. Results suggest that high maize yields following fallows are primarily due to improved N input and availability by the fallows. The potential to increase maize production without applying mineral fertilizers has excited thousands of farmers who are enthusiastically participating in the evaluation of this technology. The number of farmers who are testing a range of improved fallow practices has increased from 200 in 1994 to over 3000 in 1997. Presently, a strong network of institutions comprising government, NGOs, development projects, and farmer organizations is facilitating the adaptive research and expansion of improved fallow technology in eastern Zambia. Key elements in the research process that contributed to the achievements are effective diagnosis of farmers' problems, building on farmers' indigenous knowledge, generating several different fallow options for farmers to test, ex-ante economic analysis, farmer participation in on-farm trials, and development of a network for adaptive research and dissemination.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Influence of forest clearing methods on nutrient uptake of some tropical food crops

The adverse effects of forest clearing on crop yield have often been directly ascribed to decline in soil fertility. However, the effect of various forest clearing methods on crop nutrient uptake as reflected by the content in the leaf tissues has been the subject of few scientific investigations. A study to determine the effect of forest clearing on nutrient content of some arable crops was, therefore, carried out in the tropical rainforest of south-western Nigeria. Three forest clearing methods—mechanical, semi-mechanical and manual clearing—were used, while maize, cowpea, and cassava were the test crops. Nutrient content in the tissues of these crops was assessed by sampling maize ear leaves at silking, youngest mature leaves (YML) of cowpea at flowering and YML of 3-month-old cassava for analysis. Correlation analysis was carried out to establish the relationship between nutrient content and crop yield. The method of forest clearing had no significant effect on the nutrient content of maize and cowpea during the first cropping cycle. However, nutrient content of maize in the manually cleared plots was higher than those in the semi- and mechanically cleared plots for all elements analyzed except Mg. Nitrogen content of cowpea was much higher than that of maize. Except for P and K, the nutrient content of cassava was not markedly different among the forest clearing methods. Calcium and P content in the leaves of maize and cassava varied inversely with their levels in the soil, implying that crop uptake could have accounted for the differences in their availability within the soil. Nitrogen, P and K had significant positive correlations with maize yield (r = 0.77, 0.89, and 0.71). Potassium content also had significant positive correlation with cassava root yield (r = 0.69). This is not surprising because compared with other crops, cassava requires large amounts of K for starch formation and root development. It is concluded that differences observed in crop yields under different forest clearing methods are a function of nutrient uptake and availability within the soil. However, the uptake of some nutrients does not seem to be determined by the level of soil availability alone. This study was supported with a research grant from the International Foundation for Science (IFS), Sweden.     

Using multiple objective linear programming to evaluate multi-participant agroforestry systems

Multiple objective linear programming is used to evaluate a simulated two-participant maize/cassava/leucaena/teak agroforestry system. Examples using two different price ratios are presented along with possible methods to optimize the system with regard to the interests of the two profit seeking participants. A third example examines possible solutions to a system involving a profit seeking forester and a non-monetary subsistence farmer.

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Progmación Usando progmacion lineal con objectivos multiples se estudia un sistema agroforestal simulado de maiz, yuca, leucaena y teca, considerando dos participantes. Se presentan ejemplos usando dos niveles de pricios con metodos posibles paraq optimizar el sistema con respcto a intereses monetarios de los dos participantes. En un tercer ejemplo se examinan las soluciones posibles para el sistema, involucrando un silvicultor interesado en beneficios monetarios y un agricultor de subsistencia con interes no monetarios.

     

Effects of active pasture,teak (Tectona grandis) and mixed native plantations on soil chemistry in Costa Rica

In this study soil samples were taken from the O/A and B horizons of undisturbed forest, active pasture, and 8- to 12-year-old teak and mixed native plantations. Samples were analyzed for K, Ca, Mg, soil organic carbon, pH, exchangeable acidity, bulk density, and compared with a fertility equation. Bulk density was significantly lower in the undisturbed forest than other land uses, suggesting that after approximately 10 years of growth neither plantation lowered bulk density significantly from that of the active pasture. Teak plantations had significantly higher Mg and K (B horizon) and Ca (O/A horizon) concentrations than the undisturbed forest. This trend suggests that exchangeable base concentrations increase when land use changes from undisturbed forest to pasture, then pasture to plantation, with the most pronounced effect of this in teak plantations exhibiting more high fertility plots than other land uses. Soil organic carbon concentration was similar for all land uses except for a significantly lower concentration in teak plantations than in active pasture (O/A horizons). These results suggest that teak plantations may be advantageous for increasing soil fertility but, with respect to restoration of undisturbed forest conditions, present significant deviations in soil chemistry. Options for improved plantations soil management are discussed.     

A first-approximation simple dynamic growth model for forest teak plantations in Gujarat state of India

Tectona grandis (teak) is one of the most important tropical timber species occurring naturally in India. In India, teak is the single most important commercial timber species. Scientifically sound growth models, based on advanced modelling techniques, are often not available, although they are necessary for the successful management of teak stands in the country. Long-term forest planning requires mathematical models. In this paper, an attempt is made to develop a dynamic growth model based on the limited data, consisting of three annual measurements, collected from 15 teak sample plots in Gujarat state of India. A biologically consistent whole-stand growth model is presented, which uses the state-space approach for modelling rates of change of dominant height, stand density and stand basal area. A simple model containing few free parameters performed well and is particularly well suited to situations where available data are scarce.