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 173

in the second as consumers have more cash to spend towards the end of the year
due to extra payments and the harvest of agricultural crops. However, these slight
fluctuations in log supply and timber demand do not lead to fluctuations in the price
of timber.
Figure 8.1 depicts the most important transformations and end uses of farm-
grown timber in Misamis Oriental. The great bulk of logs produced by farmers are
sawn in SSS and either sold for further processing to medium- and large-size wood
industries, or sold to retailers (lumber yards, carpentries, furniture shops) and indi-
viduals. Wood industries use falcata planks and veneer as core stock in the produc-
tion of plyboard (also called block board) and plywood. Gmelina is mostly used for
furniture, house construction (window jams, doors, floor and wall tiles) and wooden
crafts (Photo 8.1). Low quality wood and small size pieces are used for pallets,
crates and wooden boxes. Due to the smaller size and lower quality, farm grown
timber cannot be a substitute for timber originating from natural forests. However,
according to the respondents, several premium timber species planted on farms,
such as mahogany, have the potential to capture the market niche currently under

TREE PLANTATION

weeding; pruning;
thinning; harvesting

weeding; pruning;
thinning; harvesting
sale

POLES LOGS

STUMPAGE

Processing
(mini-sawmill)
Sale

Harvesting

Chainsawmilling

LOGS

Household
consumption

LUMBER

LUMBER

Sale

Sale

Processing
Sale HOUSEHOLD LOCAL

MARKET

PALLETS
CRATES

CONSTRUCTION
MATERIALS

FURNITURE
CRAFTS

BLOCKBOARD POSTS PLYWOOD

Fig. 8.1 Production and marketing system of farm-grown timber in Misamis Oriental, Philippines:
producers' decisions, product transformation and end use