Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Deforestation status has no influence on the planting of EFTs (McGregor,
1991). On the other hand, planting of fruit trees depends on the number of
trees preserved in farmers' fields, which depends on the initial composition of
woodlands before the woodlands were cleared (Wilson, 1990).
According to Musvoto and Campbell (1995), the wealth status of a
household has no influence on the planting of trees. Households headed by
men are likely to grow a higher number of EFTs on their farms than those
headed by divorcees or widows. Similarly, households with a longer residence
period have more EFTs on their farms (Price and Campbell, 1998). Among
exotic fruits, mangoes are the major one. They only contribute a small share of
cash income relative to crops such as maize, but they are valuable for
household consumption (Musvoto and Campbell, 1995).
Exotic fruit trees are planted because they have properties that households
prefer, e.g. their commercialization potential (Brigham, 1994, cited in
Campbell, 1996, p. 133). Many people believe that the IFT species are inferior
to exotic ones. Enhanced management of IFTs is hampered by substitution
among species, which also includes planting of EFTs (Campbell, 1996, p. 133).
Exotic fruit trees are increasingly being planted and utilized for construction
purposes, while IFTs increasingly serve as a source of fuelwood (McGregor,
1991). In South Africa, Mander et al. (1996) identified lack of information as
the main obstacle to commercial cultivation of traditionally used plants.
13.3 Methodology for Assessing Profitability of Tree Planting
Planting of IFTs from the small-scale farmer's point of view is an investment.
Current benefits, e.g. the use labour for other purposes than tree planting, are
forgone in favour of future benefits. Benefits of planting include direct benefits
from the tree products (fruits, branches, leaves) and services, e.g. shade, provided
by the tree including, for example, securing tenure of land, as shown for
Mozambique (Unruh, 2001). In Zimbabwe, the latter type of benefits were not
observed. Instead, farmers supported the idea that traders, and also farmers who
want to trade in the fruits, should plant their own trees. Planted trees were
considered private property by the person who planted them (Ramadhani, 2002).
Traditionally, economists have treated investments as a 'now or never'
decision; that is, if the net present value is positive, investment is
recommended. 1 More recently, methods have been developed that allow taking
the timing of investment into account. In this approach, the investment decision
constitutes a right, but not the obligation to realize the investment, which is
similar to a financial call option that has not yet been exercised (Lund, 1991;
Dixit and Pindyck, 1994; Trigeorgis, 1998). New investment theory, which
deals with investment decisions under irreversibility, flexibility and uncertainty,
is also known as the 'real options approach'. It thus becomes possible to
analyse whether waiting to invest has any value. In the case of IFT planting, it
then can be investigated whether farmers are better off if they wait to plant,
although the net present value of the investment may be positive. This is
relevant because the decision to invest in planting domesticated IFTs is
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