PENGARUH KOMPETENSI PETANI TERHADAP KELESTARIAN HASIL DAN USAHA HUTAN RAKYAT JATI DI KABUPATEN MUNA, SULAWESI TENGGARA

Farm forestry is one form of farming business developed by the community in Muna District. Farm forestry businesses are expected to provide product for supporting farmer economic condition. Sustainable farm forestry management must be supported by competent farmers. Farmer’s competencies consisting of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and actions have not been identified, therefore it is necessary to conduct an assessment to determine their performance in order to maintain and improve the yield and business of farm forestry. This study aims to analyze the relationship between farmer competence and the sustainability of farm forestry product and business. Data collection was taken by using purposive sampling. Data analysis uses Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) which is operated by the Linear Structural Relationship (LISREL) program. Farm forestry business is not a main livelihood for the community which makes the farmers’ income does not depend on their farm forestry earnings. The results of this study indicate that the competency of farm forestry farmers and its several influencing factors have a significant impact on farm forestry sustainable management, especially in terms of product and business sustainability.

Farm-Forestry, Smallholder Farms and Policy Support – The Way Ahead

Farm forestry, interchangeably used for the term agroforestry, encompasses growing trees and/or shrubs on farms, mainly to support agricultural production and supplement farm income on smallholder farms. This, as a bonus, also provides for ecosystem services viz., protection of soil and water resources, biodiversity enhancement, carbon sequestration, and improvement in landscape values to the farm holding. In Indian context, this encompasses raising trees mainly on bunds or field boundaries on small holdings or sometimes intercropped in an agroforestry type configuration, if holding size is bigger. The techno-economic viability of this system has been extensively assessed and wide adoption, therefore, warrants a conducive policy support at local and community level. Governments have framed enabling policies towards this goal; however, desired outcome is still awaited. This study attempts to map out the present development and suggest the measures required at local and community level to make the government policies more fruitful. Policies framed at macro level need recalibration to suit local and community specific requirements in the changing climatic conditions for wider adoption and sustenance.

Melia dubia and its Importance: A Review

Melia dubia popularly known as Malabar Neem is a promising multipurpose tree highly suitable for farm forestry and agro forestry for generating higher income per unit area. Melia dubia is one of the fastest growing trees in the world and considered as a money spinning tree of short rotation due to its high demand in pulpwood, plywood and timber industries. It is a good fuel and fodder yielding tree. In addition to this, Melia dubia also has extensive medicinal, pharmacological, ethnomedicinal and conventional properties and uses. The current article reviews literature on importance of Melia dubia for timber industry and medicinal value.

Influence of Psychological Factors on the Adoption of Farm-Forestry Practices among Small-Scale Farmers in Narok-North Sub-County, Kenya

The objective of this paper is to examine the psychological factors that influenced the adoption of farm-forestry practices among small-scale farmers. Despite the numerous benefits farmers can derive from incorporating farm-forestry practices in their farmlands, the adoption of such practices has remained sub-optimal. Kenya’s government has over the years implemented projects and enacted farm-forestry policies to encourage farmers to incorporate trees on farms. The researcher used an explanatory sequential mixed method research design with a sample size of 110 small-scale farmers in Narok-North Sub-County. Proportionate sampling technique was used to acquire the sample sizes of the different wards of the Sub-County while simple random sampling was used to obtain the research participants. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to research participants to generate information on the psychological factors that were measured on a 5-point Likert scale. The results of the Mann-Whitney tests showed that farm-forestry adopters and non-adopters differed significantly in the various constructs that were used to measure attitude. The adopters had a more favourable attitude towards farm-forestry than the non-adopters. They also differed in their subjective norms in which farm-forestry adopters had social networks that supported the practice of farm-forestry. The results also showed that farm-forestry adopters indicated that they faced certain barriers that hindered their adoption of farm-forestry.

The Impact of Legislation on Sustainability of Farm Forests in Kenya: The Case of Lugari Sub-County in Kakamega County, Kenya

This study analyses the effects of the Agriculture (Farm Forestry Rules) of 2009 on Trees on Farms (ToFs) in Lugari sub-county in Kenya. Using existing literature, secondary and primary data sources from online surveys, the authors evaluated the current status of farm forests in order to determine the impact of these rules on respondents from three randomly selected income-expenditure groups through online surveys. Case results substantiate that between the years 2009–2019, ToFs generated social, economic, and environmental benefits amongst landowners surveyed. Moreover, online survey results indicate that young people in the age bracket 18–35 years are increasingly adopting farm forestry contrary to long-held beliefs in the country. However, due to the unpopularity of the 10% rule amongst surveyed income-expenditure groups, and challenges experienced by ToFs owners, this paper concludes that the observed impacts may not be necessary as a response to the 10% rule. Besides addressing the existing inconsistencies, this paper recommends full implementation by transcribing the rules in other languages, developing inventory protocols for ToFs, and awareness creation on the rules in order to register an impact.

Leucaena for paper industry in Gujarat, India: Case study

Keynote paper presented at the International Leucaena Conference, 1‒3 November 2018, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.India is one of the major producers/consumers of paper and pulp products (3–4% of global share). Approximately one-fourth of industry raw material has come from wood-based plantations from the 1990s onwards. The greatest development challenge faced by the industry since that time is sourcing robust raw material from agroforestry on private lands. Following genetic improvement of leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala) and realization of its potential as a multiple-use species, it was introduced into India in 1980 under an international cooperation effort with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). It has since spread across the country as a panacea for rural needs of fuel wood, small timber and cattle forage.The paper industry has found that it has potential as raw material for paper making. One of the largest Indian paper companies is JK Paper Ltd, which has an annual production capacity of 550,000 t/yr with 3 integrated pulp and paper plants located at Songadh (Gujarat), Rayagada (Orissa) and Kagaznagar (Telangana) producing writing and printing paper and virgin packaging boards.This case study describes the leucaena farm forestry plantation program initiated by JK Paper Ltd, Unit CPM (Central Pulp Mills). The unit, under its agroforestry and farm forestry plantation approach, planted leucaena plantations in 2009-2010 in parts of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh States. To motivate farmers in the mill’s catchment area, and to build confidence in on-farm plantations, exposure visits were arranged to Andhra Pradesh, where huge tracts of agricultural land were under leucaena plantations. As a result, to date, this unit has engaged >7,800 farmers who have established leucaena plantations covering an area of >18,400 ha.A robust plantation R&D network addressed issues such as seed treatment, seed germination, rhizobial inoculation, geometry of plantations, agro-forestry models, selection and development of high production clones, establishment of clonal seed orchards, genetic improvement through mutation techniques and hybridization programs for wood quality improvement.