Agriwood status in Punjab for Raw Material of Wood Based Industries

Suresh Bahety:

Punjab has been a leader in agriculture since the beginning. Due to its fertile land, the prices of poplar here have also been higher than other areas.

However, the area of agro-forestry did not increase as fast as the production capacity of the industry increased. The increasing cost of timber has prompted the industry to renew its efforts in agro-forestry.

The first of the difficulties seen in North India today is rate fluctuation due to which farmers hesitate in investing their resources in agro-business. Not having certified planting material is also a big reason. Apart from this, the main reason behind giving Land lease contract for only one year are the existing laws due to which there is a fear of loss of ownership, whereas for agro forestry, a minimum period of three to four years is required.

• Punjab is emerging as a model in agro forestry: Dr. MP Singh

The efforts made by Punjab regarding agro-forestry will also guide other states of the country. Brainstorming is going on as to how farmers can promote wood production in collaboration with industrialists. Punjab became a model by adopting these measures.

• Agro forestry Board created

A decision has also been taken to form an Agro forestry Board. In which along with Agriculture and Forest Department, industrialists are also playing an active role. The board will become an effective medium in solving the problems of farmers and industrialists.

As the board will include representatives of government, industrialists and farmers. Who will understand each other’s problem and work together towards its solution.

• Efforts are underway to fix the minimum price of wood.

Industrialists in Punjab are trying to fix a minimum fixed price for wood. Industrialists and the government are continuously trying for this. Once this system is made, farmers will get a satisfactory solution to the problem of fluctuating wood rates. This will increase the interest of farmers towards wood. New farmers will also be attracted towards agro forestry.

• Nurseries are being developed for high quality plants.

Consideration is also going on to develop nurseries in Punjab. This will pave the way for farmers to get high quality plants. There should be an agreement between industrialists and wood producing farmers regarding agro. Efforts in this direction is also going on in Punjab.

In the ToF draft presented by the government, it is tried to prepare separate rules and regulations for wood grown outside the forest area, by making a separate act for this.

• Dr. MP Singh gave these suggestions to ensure better results.

1. Should be brought within the ambit of the law: It would be great if the Punjab government brings the wood rates within the ambit of the law. The agreement between farmers and industrialists regarding growing wood should also be brought under the ambit of law. This will not create any controversy. The interests of all parties will also be protected.
2. Digital data platform should be created: There is a need to create a digital data platform regarding the availability of wood, number of industries and demand. Future strategies can also be made on the basis of data.
3. Activism of industrialists set an example: Industrialists are playing a very active role in Punjab. The government is also supporting them. Farmers will also get reasonable price for wood. This will create a good environment for crop diversification. The farmers will be enthusiastic about agro-forestry. He expressed hope that the availability of wood as raw material in Punjab is likely to be enough in future. There is a possibility that not only the industry of Punjab will get sufficient wood, it may also be possible to supply wood to other states.

• Learned lessons from difficult situations: Inderjit Singh Sohal

Plywood manufacturing in Punjab is facing shortage of wood these days. There was a time when we had more than reguired wood. It is not so now. This is affecting the industry. We have to work very hard to maintain ourselves. We have learned a lesson from difficult situations. How to become self-sufficient in lumber.

Measures to promote agro-forestry is being worked out with the Punjab government. The land where agriculture is not being done, should be given to the farmers which can be used as agro-forestry. The farmer who grows Poplar and Safda will be given Rs 20 in the first year and Rs 15 each in the second and third years. Saplings are being planted in collaboration with the government. Due to which tree planting got accelerated.

• This is a good opportunity for availability of wood in future: Dr. MP Singh

Punjab government is taking positive steps regarding wood. This is the right opportunity to make such arrangements which can ensure availability of adequate quantity of wood in future. The forest area in Punjab is negligible; there is a lot of potential for growing wood outside the forests. If efforts are initiated in Haryana like Punjab, then the availability of wood can also grow there.

• Panchayati land should be used for agro-forestry: RC Dhiman

Wood-based industry operators in Punjab can use Panchayat land for agro-forestry. This will also generate income for the Panchayats. The ongoing disputes regarding Panchayati land may also lesser.

• We are making efforts in this direction: Naresh Tiwari

We have been working in this direction for two years that the land of Punjab which is not in agricultural use, should be given to industrialists or progressive farmers. Many meetings have been held with the government. Hopefully the first board will be formed before March. Its draft is also ready working will start as soon as the board is formed. The government has also assigned an IAS officer for it.

• Following Steps are already in Process:

The land has been identified. Classification of such land is still pending. This is a bit lengthy process. Farmers do not have access to high quality plants. We have also suggested the government to hand over government nurseries to the private sector. Accepting this suggestion, the government has signed an agreement with ITC Bhadrachalam for eucalyptus saplings.

• Agro forestry is a better option for crop diversification:

If farmers in Punjab want to be attracted towards crop diversification from paddy and wheat, then agroforestry is the best option. We are ready to give minimum support price for wood. A doubt was reaised that what will happen if the production of wood exceeds the demand due to these measures? We as sured the government that this will not happen. Because there is no alternative to wood. In wood-based industry, only wood can be used as raw material.

• MP Singh: Your efforts are praise worthly

Punjab government, industrialists and farmers are making commendable efforts. You should keep trying for it until the Act is made. There should be permanent notification of the Act. Because if the policies are notified under the scheme, there is a possibility of changes in it. If the Act is made then it will be permanent.

• Brainstorming is going on in BIS regarding rejection:

There will be a category of rejection in every standard of BIS. A reject category will be created for whatever is not matening the standard. So that it can be launched in the market as rejection. Those who want to make low utility grade ply, we have asked the industry to send its samples. We will look at the standards and suggest new standards accordingly.

It is not necessary to implement quality control immediately in MSMEs, perhaps more time should be given for this. Gradually people will join, currently only 20 percent are registered in BIS. It should also happen that the rates of quality control products should be higher in the market.

• Punjab’s model is the best: RK Sapra

For the first time in 20 years, Punjab has created such a good model. Such policies have been successful in Tamil Nadu. The day the farmer get the assurance for a fixed rate for the wood. He will start growing tree regularly.

There is Bhavantar scheme in Haryana, it can be implemented in wood also. A wood farmer should earn more income than growing other crops. Because wood cultivation is a perennial crop.

The reason for the shortage of wood is not the farmers but our policies. Which needs to be changed now. If the availability of wood is sufficient then emergency of bigger units will definitely come up, who will exports wood and wood products. Small units may produce goods to meet the local market demand.

• Agroforestry can compensate for the small forest area in Punjab: Arvind Singh

The forest area of Punjab is 3.65 percent, which is lowar than the forest area of the national level. There are no forest areas in entire Punjab, but only in specific areas. The green cover in Punjab can be increased by providing high quality saplings to the farmers at reasonable prices. The government should also take initiative for it. The government should collaborate with nursery growing companies like ITC and wimco to provide quality saplings to small farmers.

• Saplings should also be planted around tube wells:

As far as unused land is concerned, step are initiated. The government should encourage those farmers who are not paying the electricity bill for their tube wells to plant saplings around their tube wells. If there is ten lakh motors and multiply by forty, this number becomes very big. Attention should be paid towards good seeds for high quality plants. Efforts should be made in both private and government sectors to provide good seeds and plants at a commercial level.

• Low forest area is an opportunity: Dr. MP Singh

Low forest area is creating opportunities to promote agro forestry. Forest area is less in Punjab and Haryana, hence wood based industry is flourishing here. Because where there is forest, the wood industry is bound by many restrictions. Due to which the industry faces many problems. In Kerala, the wood industry is approved to use rubber trees, that’s why silver oak cannot be used.

Farmers should get subsidy on plants: Good quality plants are a bit expensive; if farmers get sufficient subsidy then it will be easier for them to buy plants.

• Government should support in declaring the minimum support price: Satish Gupta

We should have to work collectively. Even if we give assurance to the farmers from our side for minimum support price, perhaps they will notbe assured. If he gets such assurance from the government, he will be more confident.

Bhavantar Yojana can also be a good initiative. Then the farmer will plant more and more trees. Due to which there will be no problem of wood. Therefore the government should support the initiatives.

• Forest department will have to be more sensitive towards agro forestry: Jitendra Sharma

Forest area is less in Punjab. The forest department should be more sensitive about increase in green cover. They should be trained specially for this. However, the Forest Department of Punjab is doing a lot of work in this direction.

When the Ministry of Agriculture of India took the initiative to promote agro forestry, we made the scheme successful in Punjab. At that time, Punjab was among the few states in the country which had made this scheme successful.

It is the result of that beginning that base of agro-forestry in Punjab has become quite strong.

A data was prepared by the department, through which a knowledged how many trees of which variety were planted by which farmer in which area. Now industrialists can take this data from the forest department. They can reap benefit from this data.

• Industry can be more effective in expanding agro forestry than government.

I personally believe that the more the government stays out of an area, the better it can be done. Because there are various formalities in government working. Industrialists should prepare their own action plans and implement them.

There should be a survey of non-used land.

As far as unused land is concerned in Punjab, it is less. It is yet to be decided how much unusable land is there and where it is. It is important to assess this.

It is also possible that more land is in Kandi area. Planting only one variety of plants there can cause problems. NGT also has some specific guidelines regarding plantation. Which to be followed.

• There should be pilot project for utilization of un used land:

There should be a pilot project on un used land. Based on the results further strategy should be prepared.

It would be practical to implement minimum support price as far as possible. Like WIMCO, ITC and JK in the paper industry, they themselves created a model by involving experts, scientists and officials, the same should be used by the industrialists in the wood based industry also. If funds are provided by the industry and from the government, then the work can become smoother.

• Work on pilot project is going on: Naresh Tiwari

Three hundred acres of land is being available for the pilot project. But the problem is provision to increase the lease amount by ten percent every two years. Our demand is that the lease amount should be fixed once. So that this project can be successful.

• Long plan for better purpose: MP Singh

Keeping government land, or panchayat land or unused land for plantation is a long plan. This will have very permanent. The format that was created is very detailed. The agreement between industrialists and farmers should be within the ambit of law.

• Possibility of carbon credit is also increasing: Ramesh Chandra Dhiman

Due to extensive plantation, there is a possibility of carbon credit in Punjab. The credit for this also goes to former PCCF Sharma.

• The project needs government permission: Jitendra Sharma

The ground level work for Punjab’s carbon credit program has been completed. This project needs government action. The problem is that the project file is stucked. Dr. MP Singh and Naresh Tiwari are requested to raise this issue whenever they get achance to meet the departmental or the Forest Minister. Because farmers will also benefited from this program.

• Agreement with external agency on carbon credit is not on card: Dr. MP Singh

The Government of India decided that it would not enter into any agreement with any outside agency. Because the central government feels that an outside party can interfere in carbon credits. Only Indian industries can try to buy carbon credits.

• The price of wood in Punjab is now stable and reasonable: RC Dhiman

Now the price of wood is stable in Punjab. When rates are reasonable, many farmers start planting them. As soon as prices fall, many farmers abandon plantations. This time, 1.5 lakh Eucalyptus and 80 lakh Poplar is planted in Punjab. Which is the highest. It’s a satiafactory figure. But this scene does not appear forever. A stage comes when farmers stops planting trees. This is the problem with wood. In such a situation, the industry should immediately focus on plantation as soon as the rates increase. If immediate steps are taken such critical problem will not arise again and again.

• Active role of timber markets should be ensured:

Wood markets will now have to be activated where we can get quality wood. Therefore, the process of purchasing wood from the market should be started. As far as wood tax is concerned, it can be reduced by consultation with the government.

Wood is also being sold through the app system. Wood is coming to Haryana from Orissa. In future, there will be more possibility of buying and selling of wood through digital system.

• Special attention has been given to digital data in the policy: MP Singh

In the new format of wood base industry special attention is paid to data. This data will be online, in which we will know how many industries there are. How much wood is needed? How much is available? How much wood will be needed in future? Strategy of future plans can be made with this.

• Industries should be promoted in the less agricultural forestry area:

Agro forestry should be promoted in Punjab in those areas where industries are less. Wood industries should be promoted there. The government should provide grants for industry in those areas. This will bring revolutionary results in the agro forestry across Punjab.

• Work has also started in this direction: Jitendra Sharma

In the districts where agro-forestry is less, it is now increasing. The quality and production acragen of wood is low there. For this, we will have to increase the facilities and grants available to promote agro-forestry. Till now, these area is paddy based agriculture. Hence, it has to be seen which variety of wood can grow well with paddy there. Which variety of wood should be grown there, so that farmers can have better income as compared to paddy.

• Just pay attention to nursery and only nursery: Dharmendra Dokia

If even twenty percent of the area of fifty thousand square kilometers is covered, then the problem of wood can be eliminated. There is fertile land in Punjab. Every target can be well achieved. There is a need to provide grants to promote nurseries and agro-forestry. If farmers get two the quality of the plant matters a lot. Attention has to be paid to this percent grant on saplings, very good results can be seen. The cost of clone in a nursery does not exceed eight to nine rupees. Industries can bear this cost very easily.

• Quality clone should be made available:

Secondly, if the supply of wood increases, the price decreases.

The Punjab Government should be requested to encourage the capable wood industry promote to nurseries.

Industrialists can take meaningful steps in the availability of wood by just spending one percent to promote agro-forestry.

• Pay attention to the fertility of the land: Vaidyanathan

We have to be selective to three facts. Production in agro-forestry, soil fertility and good quality clones. The inclination in this direction is low. This has to be accleratd. The initiative of the industrialists is welcome that they are taking steps for promoting agro forestry themselves. There is definitely a need to take such steps. We cannot just look to the government. We have to try at our own level.

• We will have to capitalize on our own efforts instead of the government: Gajendra Rajput

We have to set our own example. Almost every Industry has some extra land. Nursery should be grown there. One should try to take the land on lease by talking to the Panchayats themselves. The government is making efforts from its side. We should Industrialists should take initiative at their own level. In which such a model of nursery and plantation should be created which will encourage the farmers. Setting such an example is the biggest requirement of the day.

• Had a very fruitful conversation, Punjab’s wood based industry is going in the right direction: Subhash Jolly

The fact that emerged from this webinar was that attention will have to be paid towards nursery. It is heartening to know that industrialists are getting ready to invest in nurseries. Actions are initiated in this direction. This is very overwhelming. A consensus is also growing on giving assured prices for wood to the farmers. The way for farmers to get regular income is also becoming clear. The future of wood based industry is very good. There is still full potential for the demand for wood to increase in India. There is very much possibility of increasing demand for the next ten to fifteen years.