Socio-economic
and biophysical aspects of forest plantations established by private
companies and individual planters cover basic information on: type of planter,
land use, labour utilization, reasons for planting, problems faced in planting,
future plans, planting characteristics (type of species planted, use of fertilizer,
area planted, planting year, spacing, previous crops), tending and growth
performance (land preparation, weeding, climber cutting, survival rate,
replanting) and market perception (potential market, buyers and end-usage). The
information presented here is derived from interviews with representatives of
six companies and 21 individual planters who provided complete data to all the
questions asked.
Type of planter
Most planters are
individuals and only a minority are companies (Table 10). The six companies
involved in forest plantation development are located in Pahang, Negeri
Sembilan, Johore and Perlis. Among the individual planters, Malacca and Johore
comprised two-thirds of the total individual planters.
Table 10. Type of forest tree planter by state, 2002
State |
Companies |
Individual
planters |
Total |
|||
No. |
% |
No. |
% |
No. |
% |
|
Johore |
1 |
17 |
5 |
24 |
6 |
22 |
Terengganu |
0 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
Malacca |
0 |
0 |
9 |
43 |
9 |
33 |
Negeri Sembilan |
2 |
33 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
7 |
Pahang |
2 |
33 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
7 |
Perak |
0 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
Perlis |
1 |
17 |
2 |
9 |
3 |
11 |
Selangor |
0 |
0 |
3 |
14 |
3 |
11 |
Total |
6 |
100 |
21 |
100 |
27 |
100 |
Land use
The pattern of agricultural
land use indicates the extent of importance placed on tree planting by
companies and individuals. Of the total 4 803 ha of agricultural land owned,
495 ha (10 percent) were planted with forest tree species. This is a new
phenomenon considering the fact that in the 1980s not many people were
seriously considering planting forest trees on private land. This change in
land use is most noticeable among the individual planters. Of the 100 ha of
agricultural land owned, about 47 ha (46.5 percent) were planted with forest
trees. Private companies allocated only 449 ha (9.5 percent) of the 4 702 ha of
the agricultural land they owned to forest tree planting (Table 11).
Two main reasons explain
the difference. The younger people prefer to work in urban areas, which
translates into labour
shortages for agriculture. As most areas are small, it is not economic to
employ local or foreign workers. As owners become older, they prefer to grow
trees, which require less labour
than annual crops, and are expected to provide income in the future. Private
companies on the other hand are more cautious with regard to long-term
investments in forest plantations.
Table 11. Area of agricultural land under forest trees by state (ha)
State |
Companies |
Individual
planters |
Total |
|||
Total |
Forest trees |
Total |
Forest trees |
Total |
Forest trees |
|
Johore |
100.0 |
96.0 |
41.1 |
23.5 |
141.1 |
119.5 |
Terengganu |
0 |
0 |
2.0 |
1.5 |
2.0 |
1.5 |
Malacca |
0 |
0 |
19.7 |
8.7 |
19.7 |
8.7 |
Negeri Sembilan |
3 639.6 |
16.0 |
0 |
0 |
3 639.6 |
16.0 |
Pahang |
923.0 |
316.6 |
0 |
0 |
923.0 |
316.6 |
Perak |
0 |
0 |
16.4 |
2.4 |
16.4 |
2.4 |
Perlis |
40 |
20.0 |
1.2 |
1.2 |
41.2 |
21.2 |
Selangor |
0 |
0 |
20.0 |
9.4 |
20.0 |
9.4 |
Total |
4 702.6 |
448.6 |
100.4 |
46.7 |
4 803.0 |
495.3 |
There is a
considerable difference in the area of land planted with forest trees between
companies and individual planters (Table 12). The average land size is 75 ha
per company and 2.2 ha for individual planters. This indicates that although
fewer companies are involved in forest plantations their overall holdings are
larger.
Table 12. Forest tree planted areas
Land size
(ha) |
Companies |
Individual
planters |
Total |
|||
No. |
% |
No. |
% |
No. |
% |
|
Less 1 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
43 |
9 |
33 |
1– < 2 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
19 |
4 |
15 |
2–4 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
24 |
5 |
19 |
7–8 |
2 |
33 |
3 |
29 |
5 |
19 |
16–20 |
2 |
33 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
7 |
96 |
1 |
17 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
300 |
1 |
17 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
Total |
6 |
100 |
21 |
100 |
27 |
100 |
Average land size |
74.8 ha |
2.2 ha |
18.3 ha |
Main reasons for planting forest trees
Income is the
main reason for both private companies and individuals to engage in forest tree
planting (Table 13). Most private companies based their decisions on financial
analysis criteria such as the internal rate of return. Individuals on the other
hand, based their decisions more on the expected future income rather than a
detailed calculation of costs and revenues. The typical explanation by the
individual planters is “we were told that planting forest trees would give very
good returns in the future”.
Other reasons for planting forest trees are less
important. They include crop diversification, soil rejuvenation, landscaping,
recreation, an increased wood supply
for timber-based factories, to set up a
trial plot and to develop idle land.
Reasons |
Companies (n = 6) |
Individual
planters (n = 21) |
Total (n = 27) |
Income generation |
6 |
21 |
27 |
Crop
diversification |
2 |
7 |
9 |
Landscaping |
2 |
1 |
3 |
Soil rejuvenation |
2 |
7 |
9 |
Recreation |
1 |
0 |
1 |
To increase wood
supply |
1 |
0 |
1 |
To develop idle
land |
1 |
0 |
1 |
To develop trial
plots |
1 |
0 |
1 |
Note: Some respondents gave more than one reason.
Labour input
In general,
companies employ more workers for forest tree planting activities than
individual planters. The actual number of workers engaged in forest plantation
activities is small (Table 14). Individual planters rely particularly on daily
paid workers, as many are involved in other activities and do not have the time
to take care of plantation establishment and management themselves. Many employ
workers for labour-intensive activities such as weeding and
fertilizing. The average number of workers engaged in forest plantation
activities is four per company compared to one per individual planter (Table
15). People working for companies also tend to spend more days per month on
activities related to forest plantations. Unfortunately, it was not possible to
calculate labour inputs per hectare.
Table 14.
Types of worker engaged in forest tree planting
Number of respondents with workers |
|||
Type of worker |
Companies (n=6) |
Individual planters (n=21) |
Total (n=27) |
Management staff |
4 |
0 |
4 |
Workers (monthly
wage) |
1 |
0 |
1 |
Workers (daily wage) |
2 |
9 |
11 |
Workers (contract) |
1 |
1 |
2 |
Note: Some respondents gave more than one answer.
Table 15.
Total labour force by number of workers engaged in forest tree planting
Number of workers |
||||||
Type of worker |
Companies ( n = 6) |
Individual planters (n = 21) |
Total (n = 27) |
|||
No. |
% |
No. |
% |
No. |
% |
|
Management staff |
8 |
33 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
22 |
Workers (monthly
wage) |
3 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
9 |
Workers (daily wage) |
8 |
33 |
9 |
75 |
17 |
47 |
Workers (contract) |
5 |
21 |
3 |
25 |
8 |
22 |
Total |
24 |
100 |
12 |
100 |
36 |
100 |
Average number of
workers per respondent |
4 |
1 |
1 |