Can Smallholder Tree Farmers Help Revive the Timber Industry in Deforested Tropical Countries? A Case Study from Southern Philippines - Smallholder Tree Growing for Rural Development and Environmental Services - page 171

and trends, and future expectations. Important information was also gathered dur-
ing several study tours to wood processing plants and training and research activi-
ties conducted in collaboration with tree farmers and a plywood company at the
municipality of Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental. These activities were part of the
Landcare agroforestry extension project funded by the Spanish Agency for
International Cooperation (AECI) and implemented by the World Agroforestry
Center (ICRAF). Additional data on timber trade and marketing have been col-
lected from published reports, secondary sources, the National Statistics Office and
local agricultural statistics.

8.2.1 Limitations of the Study

I used the best statistics on timber production available from several sources,
including local governments, national agencies and international organizations.
However, because of the lack of transparency, so common in the forestry sector, and
the absence of proper market information systems, there are probably large discrep-
ancies between the actual amount on timber produced, traded and consumed and
those reflected in the statistics. For example, there are no estimates of the large
volumes of timber locally consumed in raw form (i.e., as poles, posts, or lumber),
or processed (e.g., furniture, wooden crafts etc.). Also, although small-scale wood
processors know well the production capacity of mini-sawmills, including recovery
rates, most of them did not keep records of total production or were reluctant to
share this information. It should be noted as well that given the species and the size
and quality of the logs produced, farm-grown timber cannot be a substitute for
wood originating from large diameter and quality logs coming from natural forests.
Therefore, comparisons between farm-grown timber and other timber produced,
traded or consumed should be interpreted with caution.

8.3 Results

8.3.1 Characterization of Commercial Tree Farms and Farmers

The average farm area managed 5 by the commercial tree farmers interviewed was
5.7 ha, with an average number of trees in their plantations of 995 (ranging from a
minimum of 30 to a maximum of 4,000 trees) and an average number of trees har-
vested and sold of 232 (with a minimum of nine trees and a maximum of 2,000).
Considering the number of trees harvested and the total number of board feet as

5 Farm area managed = farm area owned + farm area rented.