Socio-economics
of on-farm tree planting in Northeast Luzon
Agroforestry and farm forestry have been promoted as sustainable
land uses for increasingly intensifying rural areas in many
developing countries. For about twenty to thirty years projects
have been established aiming to promote sustainable land
use, rural development and food security among smallholder
farmers. The level of success of these projects has often
been limited and adoption of agroforestry systems in many
areas has remained low (although success stories exist).
Research continues as how to adapt proposed technologies
to better fit within smallholders farming and livelihood
systems and thus to encourage adoption.
Agricultural intensification, population growth and upland
migration are important characteristics of the present conditions
in the Northern Sierra Madre Region. Sustainability of upland
land use is under threat and the Northern Sierra Madre Natural
Park is encroached upon by large numbers of small-scale
illegal loggers from bordering communities. These contextual
facts provide an imperative for more sustainable and profitable
land use options in order to provide upland dwellers with
better alternatives for current practices such as high-input
continuous cash cropping and forest extraction. On-farm
tree planting may also provide improved livelihood opportunities
for lowland peasants, and contribute to sustainability in
less environmentally vulnerable lowland areas.
This research aims to enlarge our knowledge
on on-farm tree planting, constraints to on-farm tree planting
and its socio-economic benefits. This in order to contribute
to increased adoption and tree based sustainable rural development.
From the above, two assumptions follow: (a) that on-farm
tree planting generally is more sustainable than the presently
dominant cash cropping, and (b) that tree based farming
systems in the long run are more profitable than annual
crops. This is not necessarily the case and thus more research
is needed in order to verify these assumptions for different
systems under different conditions.
Several individual research projects are
currently on-going:
a)
On-farm tree planting; practices, trends and determinants
This study investigates present trends in
both spontaneous as well as project-induced on-farm tree
planting by smallholders in both upland and hilly lowland
communities in Northeast Philippines. It will provide insights
into differences between farmer and project-led tree planting
in terms of system configurations and species choice, farmers
motivations for tree planting and farmer-based constraints
and benefits to/from on-farm tree planting. Additionally
it is determined what factors positively or negatively affect
on-farm tree adoption.
b)
Marketing of tree products from smallholder on-farm and
agroforestry production
Internationally, evidence exists that marketing
factors pose great constraints to successful tree adoption
by smallholders. Farmers find it difficult to reach markets
to sell their product, and most often they receive low prices
in comparison to middlemen, wholesalers and retailers. This
research aims to identify options for improved marketing
schemes for smallholders under the assumption that more
accessible marketing with better returns will have a positive
impact on farmer adoption of on-farm tree planting. Therefore
present marketing conditions in both the remoter upland
villages as well as more accessible lowland communities,
will be investigated and sales chains for several key tree
products will be explored. As most farmers sell their tree
product as a commodity, possibilities for value adding and
examples of value adding are examined to identify possible
options for increasing returns to on-farm tree planting.
c)
Smallholder livelihood and on-farm tree planting
Determining
what factors affect on-farm tree planting can give a great
deal of insight into the question why some farmers adopt
trees in their farming system and others do not. Using the
dynamic livelihood approach which departs from a comprehensive
view on livelihood systems and strategies will provide a
new perspective on the role of trees in the household economy
and on trade-offs in that respect. Issues such as a) farm-level
economic benefits of on farm tree planting; b) farm-level
and intra household labor, capital and land allocation and
c) gender divisions in decision-making, management and perceptions
on on-farm tree planting will be addressed.
--------------------
Susan Schuren, MA
Research
2 - Indigenous people and tropical rainforest management
in the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park. >>
