WCA 2014 1

PROMOTION OF TEAK UNDER AGROFORESTRY SYSTEM FOR

ENHANCING RURAL LIVELIHOOD

By

Dr. Pramod K. Shukla

WCA 2014 2

TEAK: A VALUABLE AND PREFERRED SPECIES FOR PLANTING

• One of the most valuable and highly sought after timber for its

durability, decorative grains, lightness with strength, seasoning capacity without materially altering its shape, easy workability.

• Easy to raise–Profuse seeding–Proven nursery and planting techniques

• Hardy species–Can withstand biotic pressures–Can survive under even rain fed conditions and poor soils, however then, its growth will be slower.

• Comparatively low planting & maintenance costs.• Fairly fast growing under favorable conditions• Timber prices constantly rising.• Easy marketability.

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TEAK: AN ELITE TREE

• Teak had been treated as royal tree.• Nationalized timber: Monopoly of state govts. over its

trade.• Most of the plantations raised by state forest

departments and its agencies.• In private sector also, teak plantations raised by

corporate bodies and large land holders only as long term investment.

• Small farmers had perceived fear of reduction in crop yield due to shade effect of trees

-Contd.

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TEAK: NOW, DARLING OF RURAL POOR TOO

• Small land holders also are now planting teak as an investment to meet unanticipated emergency expenditures and treating it as an insurance crop.

• Although, it depends on their socio-economic conditions and various land use opportunities available to them.

• Teak is also a major component of agroforestry systems.

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PREVAILING AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS IN MADHYA PRADESH

• PARK LANDS– Presence of trees (naturally occurring or planted) widely scattered over

large agricultural plots.

– Trees provide shade and also act as roost for insect and rodent eating birds.

– Prunings provide firewood.

– Common tree species are teak, Babul (Acacia nilotica), Mahua (Madhuca latifolia)

• SHADE SYSTEMS– Crops raised under tree canopies

– Trees having fairly open canopies. Examples - Teak, Aonla (Emblica officinalis), Eycalyptus sp.

– Understorey crops shade tolerant. Ex:- Turmeric, ginger, medicinal plants.

-Contd.

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PREVAILING AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS IN MADHYA PRADESH

• STRIP ALLEY CROPPING

– Crop strips alternate with single or multiple widely spaced rows of closely spaced tree species.

– Alley width varies from 3 M to 10 M.– Most common tree species are teak and Khamer (Gmelina

arborea)• BOUNDARY SYSTEMS/PERIPHERAL PLANTING

– Field bund planting– Boundary planting/Live fence– Can easily accommodate more than 200 plants/ha– Popular among small farmers– Preferred woody prennials are: Teak, Bamboo, Khamer, Babool,

Safed Siris (Albizia procera), Ratanjot (Jatropha curcas), Arjun (Terminalia arjuna)

-Contd.

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• CONTOUR PLANTING ON SLOPING TERRAIN

– Lands cultivated by small/marginal farmers (especially tribals) in several districts are situated on sloping terrain.

– These lands are not much productive for raising of sole agricultural crops.

– Cultivation practices are leading to soil erosion and nutrient loss.– Contour planting of tree species which require good drainage,

such as Teak, is an ideal solution.– Most effective on lands with moderate slope of 2-7 %– Contour furrows form multitude of mini barriers across the flow

path of run off.

-Contd.

PREVAILING AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS IN MADHYA PRADESH

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PREVAILING AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS IN MADHYA PRADESH

• Stream and river bank planting– State has large areas situated on the lands of perennial rivers and

seasonal streams.

– Good plantations of Teak, Khamer, Bamboo etc have been raised on the banks of rivers & streams.

• Block Planting– Apportioning a certain part of the land for growing trees in blocks– Spacing varies from species to species and also depends on the

object of management.– Preferred by large land holders and absentee landlords.

– Preferred species are Teak, clonal Eucalyptus, Khamer, grafted

Amla, etc.• Homestead Plantations

– Preferred species are Bamboo and edible fruit bearing trees

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MAIN AGROFORESTRY SPECIES IN MADHYA PRADESH

Woody Perennials• Teak, Babool, Khamer, Eucalyptus, Amla, Safed Siris, Arjun,

Bamboo sp,Shisham (Dalbergia sissoo), Neem (Azadirachta indica) Khair (Acacia catechu), Subabul (Leucaena leucocephala) Mahua, Palas (Butea monosperma), Ratanjot, Drumstick (Moringa oleifera), Karanj, Pongamia pinnata, Kala Siris (Albizia lebbek) Arjan (Hardwickia binata) Wood apple (Aegle marmelos), Ber (Zizyphus sp) etc,

Annual Crops• Wheat, paddy, sugarcane, soybean, maize, gram-red, green and

black, arhar, mustard, medicinal plants-Aswagandha, (Withania somnifera) Safed Musli, (Chlorophytum borivilianum) etc.

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CHOICE OF MODELS AND SPECIES UNDER AGRO FORESTRY

• Choice of species and models location specific dependant on prevailing socio-economic, anthropogenic and environmental factors.

• Ecological sustainability and fulfillment of diverse needs of food, fuel, fodder, medicinal herbs, NTFPs etc have traditionally been the main criteria.

• But, of late, profitability is the over-riding consideration and therefore, teak is now one of the most popular tree species in all types of agroforestry systems.

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FACTORS MAKING TEAK A POPULAR CHOICE

• Deciduous species remaining leafless for a considerable period during a year.

• Can be raised with most of the arable crops-wheat, paddy, sugar-cane, soybean, mustard, groundnut, vegetables, medicinal plants, etc.

• Kharif (rainy season) crops in rain fed areas and Rabi (winter) crops in irrigated areas can be easily raised with teak during initial 3-4 years without any drastic reduction in crop yields.

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GROWTH AND YIELD• Fairly fast growing under favorable conditions- well-drained

fertile soils, irrigation, fertilizer application, etc.• Growth dependent on number of factors

– Soil type– Irrigated / rain fed– Spacing– Tree/Crop combination – Type of planting (Block/row/boundary, etc.)– Inputs (Fertilizers, growth hormones, etc.)– Quality of planting material.– Height of 5-8 m and Girth 12-21 cm recorded for 3 year old

plantation under fertigation whereas these figures were 2-3 m and 4-9 cm respectively under rain fed condition.

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ECONOMICS OF SOME AGROFORESTRY MODELS

S.No Agriculture zone

Districts Model B/C ratio

1. Satpura hills/Kymore plateau

Katni Teak + paddy

Eucalyptus +vegetables

Bamboo + vegetables

Guava + paddy

Paddy (Sole crop)

3.98

3.52

3.15

3.02

2.11

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S.No Agriculture zone

Districts Model B/C ratio

2. Malwa plateau Indore/Dewas

Poplar + wheat

Bamboo + wheat

Poplar + Linseed

Eucalyptus + Linseed

Eucalyptus + wheat

Wheat (Sole crop)

2.83

2.26

2.29

2.09

2.01

1.99

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S.No Agriculture zone

Districts Model B/C ratio

3. Grid region Gwalior/Bhind/ Morena

Eucalyptus + mustard

Sirsoo + wheat

Teak + wheat

Eucalyptus + wheat

Wheat (Sole Crop)

2.89

2.50

2.38

2.29

1.92

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REDUCTION IN CROP YIELD

• Reduction in crop yield varies with tree-crop combination, planting pattern, planting density, alley width etc.

• With teak @ 400 plants/ha 11.0 to 20.8 % reduction in crop yield of soybean was observed upto 4 years of planting whereas in green gram and black gram it was 20.8% to 37.3% and 21.8 % to 41.8 %

• With subabul, the reduction in crop yield was from 72 to 100 %

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ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF A TEAK-BASED AF MODEL

No. of Teak plants/ ha- 200Particulars Incremental Cost Incremental

Benefit

Cost of planting (including cost of plants) @ Rs 10/- per plant

Rs 2000/-

Reduction in cost of weeding Rs 1000/-

Returns from harvesting of teak poles at the age of 5 years @ Rs 250/- per pole

Rs 50,000/-

Reduction in crop yield 2nd year Rs1500/-

3rd year Rs3000/-

4th year Rs6000/-

5th year Rs9000/-

Total Rs 21500/- Rs. 51000/-

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POTENTIAL FOR EXPANSION OF AGROFORESTRY IN THE STATE

• Second largest state (Geog. Area 308.20 thousand sq.km)– Net area own - 152.23 thousand sq.km

– Irrigated area - 74.21thousand sq.km.

– Culturable wastelands - 11.08 thousand sq.km

– Fallow lands - 10.72 thousand sq.km

• Authentic data about the area currently under agroforestry not available

• Agroforestry has not yet made much head way in the state.• Huge potential for its expansion exists through

– Row planting on field Bunds (5-15 % of agricultural area is occupied by field bunds)

– Tree farming on culturable waste lands.

– Contour planting on agricultural lands located on sloping terrain.

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INTERVENTIONS REQUIRED FOR REALISATION OF POTENTIAL

• Research interventions

• Extension strategies

• Legal/policy interventions

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RESEARCH INTERVENTIONS• Active collaboration and coordination among research institutions

conducting research in AF– National Centre for Agroforestry Research, Jhansi.– Agriculture Universities (Jabalpur, Gwalior, Raipur)– Tropical Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur (Regional institute of ICFRE)– State Forest Research Institutes (M.P/Chhattisgarh)

• Research Areas– Identification of suitable tree species compatible with agricultural crops in

different agro-ecological zones.– Research on allelopathic effects– Evolution of suitable AF models for each agro-ecological zone– Development of nursery/planting techniques– Control of insects and disease– Pruning and canopy management– Use of biofertilizers & bio-pesticides– Seed technology

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EXTENSION STRATEGY

• Active collaboration and coordination among– Agriculture universities– Extension wing of State Forest Department – Forestry Research Institutes

• Production of quality seed and planting material• Establishment of demonstration plots and extension of

technology through result demonstration method.• Publication of extension material• Capacity building of farmers.

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LOK VANIKI SCHEME• Large number of patches of tree-clad

lands/forests/wastelands available under private/community ownership or admin. control of Revenue Department.

• Lying unmanaged yielding little or no economic returns.• Owners facing problems in getting permission for

felling/transport/sale.• Tempted to somehow get rid of trees standing on these

lands• Govt. of M.P. launched a novel voluntary scheme 'Lok Vaniki'

to bring such lands under the fold of scientific management.Contd.

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LOK VANIKI SCHEME• Enactment of Lok Vaniki Act 2001 and framing of rules in 2002. • Private Forests and Community/Revenue Forests• Management by Private owner/Gram Sabha/ Village panchayat.• Preparation of micro plans for sustainable scientific

management.• Detailed prescriptions about regeneration (including planting,

protection, tree felling, harvesting, etc.)• Approval of micro plans of area up to 10 ha by D.F.O. and

forwarding to MoEF. GoI for area more than 10 ha.• No separate permission for tree felling required.• Forest department to guide, facilitate and monitor

implementation.

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