Smallholder Tree Growing in South and Southeast Asia - Smallholder Tree Growing for Rural Development and Environmental Services - page 18

of sustainability have been met. If the answer is negative, what can be done to
improve sustainability? What is farmers' perception about (newly introduced) tree-
based farming systems and to what extent, and under which conditions, have they
indeed adopted such systems? What methods of scaling up of smallholder tree
growing have been successful and what knowledge and communication gaps do
still exist? Tree based farming systems vary in management and productivity, and
it is often questioned how these systems compare to other types of land use in terms
of profitability. Smallholder bio-crop production and rural processing may be
implemented as a way to raise the value of tree products. In this context, sustainable
forestry certification will be discussed.

1.8.2 Smallholder Tree Growing for the Market

One of the challenges faced by smallholder tree farmers is marketing their products.
There have been anecdotal stories in the past where farmers were lured to plant trees
by the prospect of becoming rich upon harvest only to find out later that wood prices
are way below their expectations. A case in point is the Philippines where one would
expect a healthy market for wood products considering that log importation amounted
to US$686 million in 2004 (Forest Management Bureau 2006). However, a recent case
study revealed that tree growers in the country are finding it hard to market their prod-
ucts (Calderon and Nawir, 2006). Among the reasons for these are unstable policy
environment, policy conflict, lack of marketing plan, poor and unstable markets for
tree species, inadequate marketing support from government agencies, and high trans-
port costs (Chokkalingam et al. 2006). An example of unstable policy environment
was when the Department of Environment and Natural Resources suddenly suspended
in 2004 cutting permits from all community based forestry projects. This was subse-
quently lifted but such flip flopping policy discourages farmers from planting trees.

1.8.3 Smallholder Tree Growing for Environmental Services

The on-going disappearance of large stretches of forests threatens biodiversity and
the natural environment in general throughout South and Southeast Asia. In order
to conserve remaining forest, protected areas have been established worldwide.
Yet, in recent years, the growing of trees in agricultural areas has become an addi-
tional focal point for safeguarding the environment and its services. However, vari-
ous questions remain to be answered. To what extent do smallholder tree based
farming systems indeed contribute to environmental services like biodiversity con-
servation and watershed protection? What are the most optimal systems, and to
what extent do these systems meet the needs of both smallholders and society in
general? How can we reward smallholder tree growers contributing to environmen-
tal conservation and sustainability that serve society as a whole?