Farmers using swidden farming (shifting cultivation) methods in Indonesia are increasingly unable to provide sufficient food and cash income to satisfy basic family and community needs. Part of their difficulty is the cost and effort of controlling the invasive grass Imperata cylindrica. Attempts to establish plantations in the grasslands are frequently thwarted by wildfires. This small grant addressed an option to reclaim unproductive land infested with imperata grass in Indonesia by assisting cash-poor swidden farmers to establish plantations of trees, especially Vitex pubescens, a native species suitable for charcoal (for which there is a ready cash market).
Earlier research had suggested that vitex is relatively easy to establish on these problem sites and was also resistant to wildfires. The research under this funding specifically hoped to establish:
the optimal weeding regime of Vitex plantations being managed by swidden agriculturists.
the optimal fertiliser regime, making use of fertiliser prepared from charcoal residue and poultry dirt.
the optimal lopping regime for fully established smallholder Vitex plantations.
A model species/system of Vitex pubescens plantations was investigated to determine the constraints/opportunities for adoption of tree planting within farming systems dedicated to small-scale rice production.
The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) joined with an Indonesian NGO, Yayasan Dian Tama (YDT). They involved the local Tanjungpura University in Pontianak to explore how the local farmers could best profit from these grasslands. The collaboration capitalised on the strengths of each partner to multiply its impact. YDT became the pivotal organisation, which conducted the research with the university. CIFOR collaborated to provide the scientific input. YDT used the good rapport it had established with the local people and its contacts in the regional government, while CIFOR made connections to outside parties. ACIAR funded the project.
The researchers conducted weeding, fertiliser and lopping experiments. They aimed to develop technologies of plantation establishment and management that were technically and economically feasible but, as importantly, were compatible with other traditional land-use activities of the local Dayak communities - particularly production of swidden rice on imperata-dominated land, which is grown for household consumption. The research would provide a model for further development of tree-based technologies, for use in conjunction with agriculture to increase the productivity of imperata grasslands and consequently the incomes of the rural poor.
Participant response analysis (PRA) exercises and detailed cost/ benefit calculations were used to assess the appropriateness of this tree planting technology for local farmers in West Kalimantan.
The four villages participating in field trials helped the researchers to answer questions about the best planting methods, seed stock, fertiliser requirements and labour needs. Recognising the strong market potential, farmers worked with the researchers to find ways to cultivate the trees in small plantations and the best way to produce the charcoal.
The activity has been enthusiastically adopted by swidden farmers in west Kalimantan because they can grow the tree alongside their regular fields without much extra work. Because V. pubescens tolerates fire much better than many other tree crops, it reduces the risk that farmers will lose their investment. A positive side effect is that the trees actually form a barrier to the wildfires that plague the area. Four years after planting it is anticipated that one hectare of V. pubescens trees could yield up to 18 tonnes of charcoal, which would earn farmers several hundred dollars when sold to charcoal factories in Pontianak.
Researchers are so impressed with how much the introduction of the tree has improved the life of the communities that they are making the results known to a wider audience. These grasslands are common in Indonesia and other countries in the region, so the results of this work could have wide implications. Oxfam is one of the organisations interested in supporting similar work. CIFOR has also been approached by development agencies from New Zealand and by the Indonesian business sector interested in the process. These interests are now working with YDT to apply the process more widely.
Links:
[1] http://www.aciar.gov.au/country/Indonesia
[2] http://www.aciar.gov.au/programarea/Forestry