Agro Forestry - Bangladesh Forest Department

 

 

As a concept, Agroforestry is not new in forestry practice. Forest Department has been practicing this in the name of Taungya in the hill forest for last 100 years. But as a science for natural resource management, it is new. Agroforestry as the name implies is the practice of growing agriculture and forestry on the same land at same time to optimize the land utilization. In the plain land forest i.e. in Sal Forest, Forest Department is practicing this system for decades together on a participatory approach to replant the barren forestland and after harvest, a share will go to the participating members. This is a multipurpose approach to replant barren land with the help of participants and protect it by them to build up forest resources. At the end of the rotation, the shares of the harvested forest produces are distributed to the participants in accordance to an agreement with the participants.

 

This concept is doing well in the ‘Sal Forest’ of Dhaka, Tangail, Mymensing, Rajshahi, Rangpur and Dinajpur. New programs of agroforestry have been incorporated in the ADB aided Forestry Sector Project launched by the Forest Department. In this project 6450 hectare of new plantations will be raised on the degraded Sal Forest and another 5400 hectare will be raised on the harvested land of old Agroforestry plantations.

 

An Approach to Rehabilitate Degraded Hill Forest

The Betagi-Pomora Agroforestry Experience

 

When one talks about agroforestry advances in Bangladesh, the experiences gained in the two hilly villages of Rangunia Thana, Chittagong district are invariably mentioned. The Betagi-Pomora project aimed at achieving three goals:

1) to regenerate denuded hills by planting trees
2) to rehabilitate the landless farmers and
3) to protect the forest from the illegal felling with the help of the settlers.

 

The project began functioning at Betagi with 82 landless families in 1979; later in 1980 with another 144 families, settled at Pomora. The Betagi-Pomora project has been widely acclaimed in a number of studies as a success story of social forestry. The criteria for selection of landless farmers were as follows:

Initially a 4 acre plot was given lease to all settlers of the two villages on a temporary lease basis with some conditions.

 

 

The economic conditions of the settlers has significantly improved since the inception of the project. Their income has actually increased three times which is very encouraging. More than half of the income comes from agroforestry products.

Another rehabilitition project for the tribal families in Bandarban, sharon para launched in 1981. Only landless farmers of the Hill Tract were selected. Each selected farmer family was allocated 2 ha. of land, 1.8 ha for farm land and 0.2ha for homestead. Each of these families was allowed to raise agricultural crops in between the rows of forest trees over an area of 5 ha. The land use permit was awarded to the farmers permanently which helped to win their confidence in the program. All outputs from the allocated 5 ha are enjoyed by the farmers. In addition they are given 25% of the revenue from the thinning as well as 10% of the final harvest from the 5 ha of plantation in which they are employed as labour at rate of Tk. 30 a day. This rehabilitation program is reported to be a successful one in parts of Chittagong Hill Tracts particularly in Sharon Para.

 

 

Agroforestry for The Rehabilitation of Degraded Sal Forest

 

Till 2003, a total of 8,778 hectare agroforestry plantation has been raised in participation with 7656 landless participants in Dinajpur, Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Tangail and Comilla forest divisions. Participant grows agricultural, root and fruit crops in the alley space.

Paddy yield shows reduction in alley in successive years; in some cases farmers have abandoned paddy cultivation due to poor yield after 4th year. If the tree crop is Eucalyptus then even after 7 years paddy can be grown due to its narrow crown and less shade.

Out of 43 participants, 15 cultivated pineapple from 2nd year of cultivation at Sagardhighi of Tangail district. Despite having no income in 1st and 2nd year, but in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th year increase of income was about 426%, 828%, 666% and 624% respectively, over the value inputs.

Similarly ginger productivity income of 12 participating families were evaluated. Participants cultivated ginger in an average on 0.15 hectare of land. Income from ginger was very attractive and farmers earn lucrative amount of money from the practice, which was as high as Tk.105,000.0/ha/year. The income increase was 316% in an average.

Performance of Tree Crops plantation raised in 1985 and which was felled in 1993 in Dinajpur was evaluated. A total production of 455.03 cum of timber from 6.05 ha plot in 8 years were achieved, MAI is about 9 cu m/ha/year in agroforestry scale (25% area under tree crops). So the productivity was quite promising.

 

At the final harvest, total sale value of wood was Tk.285,430 similarly agricultural crops total value out-turn was Tk.136,412.0. Every family in an average earns Tk.277,457 from wood sale value and agricultural crops. Moreover they earn 3250/- from pruning of trees annually.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: http://www.bforest.gov.bd/agro.php

 

 

 

 

 

 

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