IssuE 8 – ApRIl – JuNE 2011 - Winrock International India

field experience
NPV (€/ha)
2000
1500
profits from the
sale of fodder and
fuelwood.
1000
Benefits final harvest Furthermore, the
Benefits annual harvest study found that
500
Benefits fodder
(agro-)forestry
Agro-chemicals/fertilizers plantations can
help regenerate
0
Intercrop establishment
alkaline soils for
Costs final harvest
conventional
-500
Costs annual harvest
rice and wheat
Plantation maintenance
production. Soil
-1000
Plantation establishment regeneration can
-1500
Other costs
increase the NPV
strongly but the
Gudha Kohand Nain Sutana
actual increase
Figure 5. Cost/benefit breakdown of the four case study plantations (source: Stille et al, 2011)
depends on the
method used to
plantation in Gudha is higher than of
the baseline land use. The highest NPV
is observed in Gudha, which is due
to the high economic value of the tree
species Acacia nilotica and Eucalyptus
tereticornis and the fodder crop
Leptochloa fusca. In Nain and Sutana
Prosopis juliflora trees were planted at
a higher density compared to Gudha
and Kohand, which resulted in a
higher productivity, but also higher
establishment and maintenance costs.
The net result in these cases is a NPV
quantify the value of soil regeneration.
The results also indicate that the
production of fuelwood, timber and
charcoal from wood from (agro-)
forestry plantations on salt-affected
soils is competitive with existing
production chains. The results of this
Furthermore, the
lower than at Gudha.
study show the need and benefits of
optimizing the economic performance
study found that
(agro-)forestry
The cost of production is calculated
and compared to the market prices
of (agro-)forestry plantations as part
of current and future policies by, for
of fuelwood, timber and charcoal. example, subsidizing (parts of the)
plantations can
Despite the low market value of
establishment costs and creating a
help regenerate
Prosopis juliflora the COP of the
mechanism by which soil regeneration
alkaline soils for
fuelwood and charcoal chains of Nain is rewarded.
and Sutana are well below current
conventional
market prices. The production of Further details about this study can be
rice and wheat
fuelwood and charcoal is especially found at the following source:
production. Soil
regeneration can
attractive in the case of Gudha and
Kohand, mainly because of the low Stille, L., Smeets, E., Wicke, B., Singh,
feedstock costs.
R.K., Singh, G., accepted 2011. The
increase the NPV
economic performance of four (agro-)
strongly but the
The COP of timber in Kohand, Nain forestry systems on sodic soils in
actual increase
and Sutana are higher than the
Haryana, India. Energy for Sustainable
market prices, but lower in Gudha. Development.
depends on the
It is important to note that the costs
method used to
of timber would be much lower (and
Courtesy: Leon Christian Stille,
quantify the value of well below market prices), when the Project Engineer Sustainable Energy,
COP would be based on the total
USG Innotiv
soil regeneration.
Email: leonmailz@gmail.com
costs of the plantation, minus the
April-June 2011
33