Improving Financial Returns to Smallholder Tree Farmers in the Philippines: Issues and Way Forward

This paper provides an overview of ASEM/2003/052 Improving Financial Returns to Smallholder Tree Farmers in the Philippines funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and which commenced on 1 January 2004. ASEM/2003/052 involves a series of interrelated research activities investigating ways to improve financial returns to smallholder tree farmers in the Philippines. The paper first discusses the main drivers for current low returns to smallholders that have been identified from research and extensive consultations with stakeholders. In particular, the effects of regulations on market access and product quality appear to be the dominant constraints on smallholders receiving higher returns from their existing tree farms. The paper then outlines the general research strategy that has been developed to address these constraints by improving the implementation of policy, helping smallholders access markets and through longer term policy initiatives. The important economic, social and environmental benefits of the project are outlined

Rationale and key research questions addressed by field trails established as part of the ACIAR Smallholder Tree Farmer Project

A series of field trials have been established as part of the ACIAR Smallholder Tree Farmer Project. These trials are designed to have both a research and demonstration function. A field trial was designed to investigate the potential interaction between four species providing a combination of native and exotic species and nitrogen-fixing vs non-nitrogen-fixing. Importantly, this design provides information about different mixture ratios using only one plot. This field trial will provide important information about the interactions of the four species when grown in varying mixture ratios. A clinal trial using the design of Vanclay (2006) was established in Leyte Leyte in December 2007 using four species. This trial will provide important information on ideal spacing at which trees should be established and how initial planting density affects site capture and early growth, especially in respect to indigenous species. Field trials have also been established to investigate the effect of fertiliser and shade on the establishment and early growth of mayapis and to demonstrate the positive impact that the use of high quality germplasm and good early age silviculture has on the growth of gmelina. The establishment of the field trials has been an important capacity building exercise within the project team. Filipino collaborators have been intimately involved in the design, establishment and monitoring of the field trials and are now capable of establishing similar rigorous field experiments

Nature and objectives of ACIAR Project ASEM/2003/052: Improving financial returns to smallholder tree farmers in the Philippines

This paper provides an overview of ASEM/2003/052 – Improving Financial Returns to Smallholder Tree Farmers in the Philippines funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), which commenced on 1 January 2004 and ran until 31 December 2008. ASEM/2003/052 involved a series of interrelated research activities investigating measures to improve financial returns to smallholder tree farmers in the Philippines. This paper discusses the main drivers for current low returns to smallholders that have been identified from research and extensive consultations with stakeholders. In particular, the effects of regulations on market access and product quality appear to be the dominant constraints on smallholders receiving higher returns from their existing tree farms. The paper then outlines the general research strategy that was developed to address these constraints by improving the implementation of policy, helping smallholders access markets and through longer term policy initiatives

The performance of community organisers in promotion of community forestry in Leyte Province, Phillipines

A study was conducted to assess the role and effectiveness of community organisers in supporting the development of people’s organisations in achieving community-based forest management objectives in Leyte Province Philippines. Community organisers were found to be effective in forming people’s organisations (POs), motivating people to participate in voluntary activities organised by POs and encouraging cohesiveness among PO members. Community organisers manage to raise the level of environmental awareness and knowledge of members of people’s organisations, develop leadership interest and skills, create various livelihood opportunities and provide direction and facilitate the establishment of large tree plantations. However, the short duration of community organisers’ contracts (typically two years) is insufficient to establish mature and cohesive POs prepared to assume management on their own, including the management of tree plantations. Further, lack of training and funding support, low wages, delayed payment of salaries and limited time to work with people’s organisations, as well as the pressure to produce tangible outputs such the establishment of large tree plantations, prevents them from placing greater emphasis on the development and empowerment of the people

Establishing field trials to promote smallholder forestry in Leyte, The Philippines

The quality of planting material is one of the key factors that determine the success of tree farming and reforestation activities. In the Philippines, low quality seedlings are commonly used in smallholder plantings for reasons such as the limited supply of high quality seedlings and smallholders’ lack of awareness of the benefits of using high quality planting stock. The ACIAR-funded seedling enhancement project has been carrying out training and extension activities to enhance the knowledge of tree farmers about the importance of high quality planting material and improve the capacity of nursery operators in the production of high quality seedlings. Various field trials were established to gain new knowledge on tree farming and to demonstrate to smallholders the result of adopting the best management practices

Recovery of milling timber from smallholder tree farms using chainsaw and mini-bandsaw

The sawing recovery rates of chainsaws and mini-bandsaws used on Leyte Island, the Philippines to produce sawn timber from smallholder tree farms are compared through sawing trials. The sawing recovery rate for a mini-bandsaw is 52% while that for chainsaws is 39%. The sawing trials found that log sizes and the cross-section areas of boards showed a weak linear relationship to the sawing recovery rate for sample logs sawn. Significant differences in sawing recovery rates between the saw operators involved in the sawing trials were also detected. This paper mainly reports the results for comparing the sawmilling recovery for chainsaws and mini-bandsaws, while the financial as well as policy implications of the differences in sawing recovery rate between these two saw types are discussed in a separate paper in these Proceedings

Initial gas exchange results from field trials

Gas exchange measurements were undertaken at field trials to investigate the impact of thinning of 12 year old gmelina plantations located at Bato. Amax for leaves at the thinned site were significantly higher (pnarra>mahogany>mayapis. This pattern is also reflected in the average height of each species but not in the pattern for average biomass (number of leaves) and dbh which followed the pattern of falcata>mahogany>narra>mayapis. The reversal of mahogany and narra suggests a different pattern of resource allocation. Narra has high rates of Amax with a smaller number of leaves compared with mahogany which has a lower rate of Amax but a much greater number of leaves and total leaf biomass. There was a substantial difference between the light curves for 11 month old gmelina trees in the three experiment plots with a 3 m x 3 m spacing compared with gmelina trees in the one experimental plot with a 4 m x 4 m spacing (Figure 6). The preliminary interpretation of these results is that at even a very early age, resources are becoming limiting for photosynthesis at a 3 m x 3 m spacing. This unexpected finding will be investigated further with a variable spacing trial

Australian Rainforest Timbers as a Valuable Resource Community Perceptions and Purchase Habits of Rainforest Timber Products

Australia has some of the highest quality cabinet timber species in the world, sourced primarily from tropical rainforests, and this has been a long tradition of using these to produce furniture. Cessation of logging of crown rainforest land has reduced resource supply, but there is now considerable interest in growing rainforest timbers on private land. In order to formulate reforestation policy and industry development, it is desirable to know how the community views these timbers. This study provides the first quantitative description of the public’s perceptions and purchases of Australian rainforest cabinet timber (ARCT) products in North Queensland. It provides information that contributes to understanding the factors affecting the demand for products made from rainforest cabinet timbers. The majority of the North Queensland community consider Australian rainforest cabinet timbers to be vastly superior to composite wood products. Eucalypt species are also considered superior to exotic conifers which are the main species grown by Australian state forest services. Reasons for reluctance to purchase products made from RFTs include high cost but also desire to protect the rainforests and ‘stage of life’. The main purchasing group are clustered on the 25-54 year age category. These findings have implications for government initiatives to promote afforestation with rainforest species

Cabinet-Makers' Awareness and Usage of Rainforest Cabinet Timbers in Queensland

This paper reports findings of surveys into the usage of, and attitudes to, rainforest cabinet timbers by cabinet-makers in Queensland, Australia. In determining policies to promote growing of native rainforest trees on private land, it is necessary to know the market requirements for various cabinet species. The species most in demand by cabinet-makers are identified in this paper. Suitability and availability are found to be important determinants of cabinet-maker demand for timber. The species being planted in north Queensland are not a close match with those predicted by cabinet-makers to be in greatest demand in the future

Financial evaluation and implications of sawing recovery of chainsaws and mini-bandsaws in smallholder timber processing

A trial was conducted in late 2008 and early 2009 to compare the sawing recovery rate using chainsaws and mini-bandsaws in small-scale timber processing on Leyte Island, the Philippines. The sawing recovery rate for chainsawing was found to be 39% while that for the mini-bandsaw was 52%. The financial feasibility of using both saws in processing timber from smallholder tree farms on the island as well as its policy implications are evaluated in this paper. The net revenue of small-scale sawn timber processing is PhP873/m3 from chainsawing and PhP1895/ m3 for bandsawing. Profitability of sawn timber processing was found to be highly sensitive to sawing recovery rate and therefore both the use of saws with a smaller kerf and training of the saw operators are recommended. Profitability was also found to be highly sensitive to haulage distance of sawn timber. Negative returns were predicted for a hauling distance of more than 2.25 km and 3 km for chainsawn timber processing and bandsaw milling, respectively. It is recommended that farmers, extension agents at local government units and Foresters of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) should consider road access in forestry promotion if tree farming is oriented towards the sawn-timber market