Mapping the Future Market Potential of Timber from Small-Scale Tree Farmers : Perspectives from the Southern Highlands in Tanzania

In the rapidly growing Tanzanian economy, increasing demand for timber and limited wood supply from industrial plantations and natural forests have opened a new livelihood opportunity for smallholder farmers in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania, which is undergoing a tree-growing boom. In the absence of support services, research and statistics, the magnitude of the phenomena has remained unclear, along with the farmers’ capability to meet market demands, access the markets, and negotiate prices. Primary qualitative data were collected to clarify the role of smallholder tree growers in the forest transition process and wood value chain using 60 semi-structured tree farmer interviews in four villages, and through interviews of timber buyers and processors. The findings indicate that the strong market demand has created dual markets, where higher quality industrial plantations mainly supply larger industries, whereas micro and small enterprises source wood from lower quality smallholder plantations. While the markets’ quality criteria are expected to tighten, capacity building is needed to improve smallholder wood quality to ensure the long-run tree-growing livelihood and competitiveness of small-scale producers in the markets.Peer reviewe

Key factors in the enabling environment for smallholder tree growing : experiences from the Global South

Smallholder tree growing is drawing increasing attention as population and economic growth models anticipate increasing wood demand that current natural forest or industrial forest plantations will not be able to supply without endangering sustainable development goals. Furthermore, ‘greening of economies’ calls for substitution of non-renewable materials with renewables, such as cellulose-based products. This has led to increasing attention to smallholder tree growing and it’s potential to contribute to the growing need for wood and ecosystem services from forests. Research on the motivations and drivers of smallholder tree growers and the role of smallholder tree growers in forest transition processes is available for some individual countries, and some qualitative analysis comparing countries on their enabling environments for smallholder tree growing has been done over the years. However, a systematic analysis with a global perspective is lacking. This study contributes to understanding the role and combinations of contextual and sectoral factors in establishing an enabling environment for smallholder commercial tree growing in South-East Asia and Africa, and analyses the role and importance of incentives for smallholder tree growing. The dissertation consists of three articles (papers I, II, and III). Papers I and II are in-depth case studies from Tanzania and Lao PDR, and Paper III combines the case-studies with three additional country cases for a Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Field research for the first and second paper collected data on household socioeconomic background and past, present, and future tree growing interests and practices through semi-structured interviews. Four villages in Njombe region in Tanzania, and four villages in central and northern Lao PDR were included in the study. In Tanzania, detailed information on smallholder plantation condition was collected through plantation inventories. The data collected was analysed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. For the third paper a theoretical framework was developed based on eight main factors in the enabling environment for smallholder tree growing identified in previous research. Country case-study information on these factors was collected through case studies on Tanzania and Laos, and desk studies on Indonesia, Uganda and Vietnam. Country case studies were then analysed using Qualitative Comparative Analysis applying a two-step approach and crisp set methodology. The analysis was run with Tosmana (Cronqvist, 2017) and verification of the results utilised Kirq (Reichert and Rubinson, 2014) and QCA 3.0 software (Dusa, 2019). Findings indicate that Tanzanian smallholder tree growers have strong interest to increase their tree growing area despite the weak enabling environment. In Lao PDR the smallholder teak growing area is not likely to expand as smallholders consider other land uses more attractive and the existing incentive framework fails to induce smallholder tree growing. Based on the Qualitative Comparative Analysis, secure land and forest tenure, and strong demand for timber may be sufficient to boost smallholder tree growing. However, functioning wood markets, knowledge, and direct incentives are present in the configurations in the majority of the cases, which especially seem to contribute in scaling up tree growing volumes and in building an enduring smallholder tree growing sector that is capable to maintain the tree growing activity and supply the wood markets. The role of incentives in smallholder tree growing varies in the case-study countries, but under strong market demand they may not even be necessary for plantation expansion if land tenure is clear. However, to be effective, incentives should be tailored to meet smallholder needs in a country-specific context, and adjusted according to the changing environment. Secure land tenure and wood demand are essential elements in the enabling environment for smallholder tree growing. Even though they are not necessary for the initiation of smallholder tree growing, incentives play a crucial role in establishing technical knowledge and skills among smallholders to improve the quality of the wood they produce, which over the years has remained a challenge. However, incentives are only effective if they are designed from the beginning considering the smallholder capacities, actual needs, and their other livelihood options. The findings confirm and highlight the importance of secure land and forest tenure recognized in multitudinous studies. Smallholder tree growers struggle to achieve the quality that higher value wood markets require, and their produce is sold mainly in lower value local or regional markets. This may still be a profitable business model and a way to diversify livelihoods from the smallholder perspective, but on the other hand it does not allow smallholder tree growers to reach their full production potential and profits, nor does it support the development of the wood industry. The findings also suggest that models and incentives improving smallholder access to land are an effective incentive for smallholder tree growing when the land use is defined as a condition for the allocation. If global and national policies seek increasing smallholder contributions in tree growing for wood production and climate change mitigation, the first priority is to provide them access to land and secure land and tree tenure. Smallholder tree growing schemes should either recognize and accept the capacity and financial limitations smallholders have, or support schemes should be tailored to their specific needs and to the varying socioeconomic contexts.Kestävän kehityksen tavoitteiden saavuttaminen edellyttää muun muassa siirtymistä uusiutumattomista raaka-aineista kohti uusiutuvien raaka-aineiden hyödyntämistä. Globaali metsäkato ja samaan aikaan lisääntyvä teollisen puun tarve ohjaavat puun ja metsien tuottamien ekosysteemipalveluiden tuotantoa kohti viljelymetsiä, erityisesti kehittyvien maiden markkinoilla. Puuviljelmät ja istutusmetsät tuottavat jo merkittävän osan metsäteollisuuden tarvitsemasta puuraaka-aineesta ja osuuden ennustetaan edelleen kasvavan. Samalla kuitenkin laajoja teollisia puuviljelmiä kohtaan kohdistuu kritiikkiä ja laajojen maa-alueiden löytäminen ja osoittaminen puunkasvatukseen on monessa kehittyvässä maassa mahdotonta. Pienviljelijöiden osuus puuntuotannosta on monissa kehittyvissä maissa viime vuosikymmeninä kasvanut ja monet maat ovat myös pyrkineet edistämään pienviljelijöiden puunkasvatusta erilaisin poliittisin tukitoimin. Väitöskirjatutkimus tarkasteli ja vertaili pienviljelijöiden metsänkasvatuksen vaikuttavan toimintaympäristön tekijöitä ja niiden merkitystä puunkasvatuksen yleistymiselle Kaakkois-Aasiassa ja Itä-Afrikassa, sekä suorien ja epäsuorien tukimuotojen ja kannustimien merkitystä viljelijöiden päätöksenteossa. Tulosten perusteella turvattu ja selkeä maanomistus ja riittävä kysyntä ovat keskeiset ennakkoedellytykset pienviljelijöiden puunkasvatukselle ja joissakin oloissa myös yksinään riittävä kannustin. Maanomistuksen ja kysynnän lisäksi myös puumarkkinoiden toimivuudella, viljelijöiden tieto-taidolla ja suorilla kannustimilla on useimmissa tapauksissa ollut rooli puunkasvatuksen lisääntymisessä ja jatkuvuudessa. Kannustimet ovat kuitenkin tehokkaita vain jos ne on räätälöity vastaamaan viljelijöiden tarpeisiin. Pienviljelijöiden kehittyvissä maissa tuottama puu ei useinkaan vastaa laatuvaatimuksia joita korkeampaa arvonlisää tuottavalla teollisuudella raaka-aineelleen on. Siksi pienviljelijöiden tuottama puu päätyy useimmiten paikallisille tai alueellisille markkinoille ja pienempää arvonlisää tuottavan teollisuuden käyttöön. Tämäkin tuotantomalli voi olla pienviljelijän näkökulmasta kannattava mutta viljelijät menettävät tällöin osan tuotantopotentiaalistaan ja mahdollisista tuotoistaan ja toisaalta ilmiö rajoittaa myös metsäteollisuuden kasvupotentiaalia. Mikäli globaaleilla ja kansallisilla poliittisilla toimilla pyritään lisäämään pienviljelijöiden osuutta puuntuotannossa ja ilmastonmuutoksen vastaisissa toimissa on heille ensinnä taattava pääsy puunkasvatukseen soveltuville maa-alueille sekä turvattava maan ja sillä kasvatettavan puuston hallinta- ja omistusoikeudet. Pienviljelijöille räätälöitävien tukiohjelmien on myös huomioitava heidän taloudelliset ja tieto-taidolliset rajoitteensa, erityiset tarpeensa ja toimintaympäristöjen vaihtelevat haasteet

Sattumaa vai suunnitelmaa? Metsäpolitiikan vaikutus pienmaanomistajien tiikin kasvatukseen Laosissa

This study analyses the impact of policy, legal and market conditions and specific incentives on smallholders’ interest and success in tree growing between 1990-2015 in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos, Lao PDR). A review of previous studies and policy papers established the framework for this study, with primary data then collected from smallholders through semi-structured interviews in four villages. The interview questions covered household socioeconomic features, land use, information on woodlots, extension, and perceptions on drivers and challenges of tree growing. The findings indicate that policy objectives of promoting smallholder tree growing are weak at the district and village levels, and the only significant incentive, namely land allocation, has become ineffectual due to land scarcity and preference for other income sources. Tree growers intend to mainly preserve their present plantation areas, although their interest to expand tree growing areas is weak, and one third of non-growers see tree growing as a potential livelihood diversification option. If the promotion of smallholder tree growing is to be improved, the land and forest policy and associated legislation requires thorough revision and simplification, extension services must be made available, and specific incentives developed to allow smallholders to access land and meet their specific needs.This study analyses the impact of policy, legal and market conditions and specific incentives on smallholders’ interest and success in tree growing between 1990-2015 in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos, Lao PDR). A review of previous studies and policy papers established the framework for this study, with primary data then collected from smallholders through semi-structured interviews in four villages. The interview questions covered household socioeconomic features, land use, information on woodlots, extension, and perceptions on drivers and challenges of tree growing. The findings indicate that policy objectives of promoting smallholder tree growing are weak at the district and village levels, and the only significant incentive, namely land allocation, has become ineffectual due to land scarcity and preference for other income sources. Tree growers intend to mainly preserve their present plantation areas, although their interest to expand tree growing areas is weak, and one third of non-growers see tree growing as a potential livelihood diversification option. If the promotion of smallholder tree growing is to be improved, the land and forest policy and associated legislation requires thorough revision and simplification, extension services must be made available, and specific incentives developed to allow smallholders to access land and meet their specific needs.Peer reviewe

Financial attractiveness of wood production in smallholder plantations of Central Vietnam in the context of developing carbon markets

In Vietnam, fast-growing Acacia hybrid dominates commercial smallholdings and is largely managed in short rotations for pulpwood. However, increasing demand for logwood implies growing Acacia hybrid in longer rotations. One way of encouraging smallholders to prolong the rotation would be payments for aboveground carbon storage. Thus, this study evaluated the financial attractiveness of shifting from pulpwood to logwood production, with and without hypothetical carbon payments of $5,$10 and $20 tCO(2)e ha(-1). The data were drawn from smallholder interviews, a plantation inventory and a market study. The growth models for a 5-year pulpwood regime and various logwood regimes used for financial modelling were developed in CO2FIX simulation software. With a financially optimal rotation length of 9-10 years, the study finds that growing Acacia hybrid for logwood is much more profitable than growing it for pulpwood. However, due to thinning in logwood regime, a financially optimal logwood regime stores only 15-16% more carbon than a 5-year pulpwood regime. Consequently, carbon payments at any of the three price levels would not shift the financially optimal rotation length. The study concluded that carbon payments alone are unlikely to be an effective means to encourage smallholders in central Vietnam to prolong the rotation.Peer reviewe

Bioteknologisten sovellusten arvonluonti Suomen metsäklusterissa

biotechnology, competitive advantage, forest industry, value chain

A taste of things to come : Effect of temporal order of information and product experience on evaluation of healthy and sustainable plant-based products

Current patterns of meat consumption are considered unsustainable. Plant-based products are presented as a solution. However, while some plant-based products thrive, others do not make the cut due to the information “framing” effect issues related to the way information is presented to the consumers. Information on the nutrition and health properties of food products are usually made available at the point of purchase, but their effect on consumer product evaluation and subsequent purchase intent can also occur later, during or after consumption. This research demonstrates that the effect of nutrition information on product evaluation and purchase intention depends on when such information is made available–before first tasting or after first tasting–and that the information interacts with the taste experience in its effect on product evaluation and subsequent purchase intent. Using three plant-based products as an example, we conducted a cross-cultural experimental sensory evaluation with temporal order of information as the main between-subject experimental condition (informed before taste vs. informed after taste vs. control condition), and product experience phase (expectation vs. experience vs. post-experience phase) and information content as within-subject conditions. Information content had two levels: lower vs. higher share of oat protein in the product (i.e., source of protein vs. high in protein). The results indicate that information generally increases consumers’ purchase intentions with information before tasting having a higher weight when compared to the condition when information was presented after tasting. Presenting the information before tasting also mitigates a drop in the evaluation of taste after tasting, observed in the two other conditions. Further, taste acts as a healthiness cue, but the direction of the inference depends on the availability of health-related information: tasting in the informed condition increased the healthiness perception, whereas tasting in the uninformed condition had the opposite effect. Giving the information before the first tasting also increased the weight of healthiness as compared to taste in the formation of purchase intentions. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the effect of temporal order of information and product tasting have on the consumers’ product evaluations of plant-based products from theoretical and managerial perspectives.© 2022 Banovic, Arvola, Pennanen, Duta, Sveinsdóttir, Sozer and Grunert. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

СИСТЕМНЫЙ АНАЛИЗ ОСНОВНЫХ ТЕНДЕНЦИЙ В РАЗВИТИИ АДАПТИВНЫХ МЕТОДОВ УПРАВЛЕНИЯ ТРАНСПОРТНЫМИ ПОТОКАМИ

Adaptive algorithms, which current traffic systems are based on, exist for many decades. Information technologies have developed significantly over this period and it makes more relevant their application in the field of transport. This paper analyses modern trends in the development of adaptive traffic flow control methods. Reviewed the most perspective directions in the field of intelligent transport systems, such as high-speed wireless communication between vehicles and road infrastructure based on such technologies as DSRC and WAVE, traffic jams prediction having such features as traffic flow information, congestion, velocity of vehicles using machine learning, fuzzy logic rules and genetic algorithms, application of driver assistance systems to increase vehicle’s autonomy. Advantages of such technologies in safety, efficiency and usability of transport are shown. Described multi-agent approach, which uses V2I-communication between vehicles and intersection controller to improve efficiency of control due to more complete traffic flow information and possibility to give orders to separate vehicles. Presented number of algorithms which use such approach to create new generation of adaptive transport systems.Алгоритмы адаптивного управления, применяющиеся на сегодняшний день, существуют уже несколько десятилетий. За это время интенсивное развитие получили информационные технологии и сегодня все более актуальным является их применение в сфере транспорта. В статье анализируются современные тенденции развития адаптивных методов управления транспортными потоками. Выполнен обзор наиболее перспективных направлений в сфере интеллектуальных транспортных систем, таких как высокоскоростное беспроводное взаимодействие автомобилей друг с другом и с дорожной инфраструктурой, основанное на использовании технологий DSRC и WAVE, прогнозирование заторов по признакам, включающим информацию о дорожном потоке, степени занятости дороги, скоростях транспортных средств, с помощью методов машинного обучения, правил нечеткой логики и генетических алгоритмов, внедрение систем содействия водителю для повышения автономности транспортных средств. Приведены преимущества, предоставляемые этими технологиями, для повышения безопасности, эффективности и удобства использования транспорта. Описан мультиагентный подход, использующий V2I-взаимодействие между автомобилями и контроллером перекрестка для повышения эффективности управления за счет более полной информации о транспортном потоке и возможности отдавать команды отдельным автомобилям через сообщения. Представлен ряд алгоритмов, использующих этот подход для создания нового поколения адаптивных транспортных систем

What drives smallholder tree growing? : Enabling conditions in a changing policy environment

Peer reviewe

Kuluttajien ja kunnallisten päättäjien näkemyksiä lähi- ja luomuruoasta

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli tuottaa yleistettävää tietoa kuluttajien ja päättäjien suhtautumisesta lähi- ja luomuruokaan ja siten edesauttaa elintarvikealan pk-sektorin toimintaedellytyksiä. Tutkimuksen taustalla on keskustelu elintarvikkeiden turvallisuudesta, laadusta ja tuotantomenetelmistä sekä lähi- ja luomuruoan tarjoamista uusista mahdollisuuksista yrittäjille ja kuluttajille. Tutkimuksen tuloksia voidaan hyödyntää mm. tuotekehityksessä, markkinoinnissa ja elintarviketuotannon strategioiden suunnittelussa. Hankkeen ovat toteuttaneet yhteistyössä Kuluttajatutkimuskeskus, MTT taloustutkimus ja VTT Elintarvikkeiden biotekniikka. Tutkimuksen aineistot kerättiin kolmella Internet-kyselyllä marraskuussa 2004. Kuluttaja-aineisto (N = 2 429) on edustava otos suomalaisista Internetin käyttäjistä. Päättäjäaineisto koostuu kahdesta kyselystä, jotka lähetettiin kaikkiin Suomen kuntiin. Ensimmäinen oli suunnattu kunnanjohdolle (N = 144) ja toinen suurkeittiöiden edustajille (N = 212). Kyselyissä käsiteltiin mm. lähiruoan määrittelyä, lähi- ja luomuruokaan liitettyjä mielikuvia ja ominaisuuksia, lähi- ja luomuruoan käyttöä ja siihen vaikuttavia tekijöitä sekä elintarviketalouden tulevaisuutta. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat, että sekä lähi- että luomuruokaan suhtaudutaan hyvin myönteisesti, joskin käsite "lähiruoka" koetaan epämääräisenä. Lähi- ja luomuruoka arvioidaan joiltakin ominaisuuksiltaan hieman tavanomaista suomalaista ruokaa paremmiksi. Lähiruokaa pidetään enemmän kotiseudun yrittäjiä tukevana ja sen raaka-aineiden jäljitettävyys koetaan helpompana. Toisaalta lähiruoka on vaikeampi tunnistaa kaupassa. Kalliimpana pidetty luomuruoka arvioidaan ympäristövaikutuksiltaan ja puhtaudeltaan lähiruokaa paremmaksi. Lähi- ja luomuruoan käyttöä rajoittavat tuotteiden korkea hinta ja saatavuus. Kunnallisissa ruokapalveluissa määrärahojen riittävyys koetaan erityisesti luomuruoan käytön esteeksi. Lähiruoan käytön edistäminen edellyttää sen napakampaa profiloimista suhteessa muuhun ruokaan. Lähiruoassa kuluttajille tärkeitä ominaisuuksia ovat hyöty itselle, hyvinvoinnille ja yhteiskunnalle. Sekä kuluttajille että päättäjille ovat merkityksellisiä myös lähiruoan aluetaloudelliset vaikutukset ja oman alueen elinvoimaisuus. Tutkimus osoittaa, että kiinnostus etenkin lähiruokaa kohtaan ei ole mikään marginaaliilmiö vaan kotimainen luomuruoka ja paikallinen lähiruoka voisivat hyvin löytää paikkansa niin kuluttajien ostoskoreissa kuin kunnallisissa ruokapalveluissa. Käsitykset elintarviketalouden tulevaisuudesta kertovat, että samat vastaajat uskovat osittain sekä globalisaation lisääntymiseen että lähi- ja luomuruokakulttuurin nousuun. Näin ollen globaali ja lokaali eivät välttämättä ole toisensa poissulkevia ilmiöitä, vaan niiden yhteensovittaminen on mahdollista. Globaalin ja lokaalin rinnakkaiselo ja vuoropuhelu on mahdollista myös Suomessa

Ecosystem responses to increased organic carbon concentration: comparing results based on longterm monitoring and whole-lake experimentation

Recent increases in terrestrial dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in northern inland waters have many ecological consequences. We examined available data on carbon cycles and food webs of 2 boreal headwater lakes in southern Finland. Basic limnology and catchment characteristics of a pristine lake, Valkea-Kotinen (VK), were monitored over the past 25 years while the lake has undergone browning and DOC increased from similar to 11 to 13 mg L-1. Pronounced changes in the early 2000s represent a regime shift in DOC concentration and color. Lake Alinen Mustajarvi (AM) was manipulated for 2 years by additions of labile DOC (cane sugar), raising the DOC concentration from similar to 10 to 12 mg L-1, but not changing light conditions. The 2 different approaches both revealed increased concentrations and efflux of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the lakes and thus net heterotrophy and changes in the pelagic community structure following an increase in DOC concentration. Long-term monitoring of VK revealed a decline in phytoplankton primary production (PP) along with browning, which was reflected in retarded growth of young (1-2-year-old) perch. In the experimentally manipulated lake (AM), PP was not affected, and the growth of young perch was more variable. The results suggested the importance of a pathway from labile DOC via benthic invertebrates to perch. Although provided with this extra resource, the food chain based on DOC proved inefficient. Long-term monitoring and whole-lake experimentation are complementary approaches for revealing how freshwater ecosystems respond to climate and/or atmospheric deposition-induced changes, such as browning.Peer reviewe