India can become 40 % green, if hurdles for tree growing is removed. I am doing my best for the same. Tree growing at farm boundaries is much more challenging than growing in plantation. Happy to note that Director general of ICAR and other officials are aware of difficulties of tree growing farmers. I have put forth farmers perspective to best of my knowledge

1. Multi Purpose Tree Species
(or Multiple trees for multipurposes)
@ Farm boundaries
Farmer’s Challenges
RP Ganesan BE
Tree grower &
Policy Analyst

2. Farmer’s issues are complex, but
• Choosing from many crops, trees…. After
knowing soil, rain fall, temp, water, market….
• But MPTS at boundaries will help a lot
• Best example of MPTS is Drumstick
• Gives – greens, vegetable, fodder, oil from
seed, mulch… all without maintenance &
much water
Challenges are
– Which tree ? How to grow ?
– To make some money out of it
MONEY MATTERS / Money Decides

3. Challenges !!!
• Any failure in tree selection, takes decades to
correct
• My father planted Mango ,failed – 10 yrs lost
• My Tamarind failed – 13 years gone
• Some more failures, due to climate change
– Trees like Jack fruit / black jamun are not growing,
nowadays, climate change (Long dry months - dry soil)
• Red Sanders is growing well, but forest dept /
MoEFCC restrictions are paining

4. Soil, moisture, temp based selection
• Knowledge of soil itself is complex
• Soil moisture and humidity needs of trees are yet to be
understood clearly
• Temp, rainfall pattern, soil moisture combinations with
future market predictions, makes it difficult to choose a tree.
• Lot of research and guidance are required
• Vernacular videos through Youtube will help a lot to dissipate
the knowledge
– My 7-parts video on Red Sanders growing in Tamil (ref last slide)
– My interview for magazine viewed by more than a million
– Getting phone calls daily – difficult for an individual

5. Multi functions of boundary trees
• Wind break, less transpiration
• Fodder / Shade for animals
• Place to have compost (vermi) pits
– Compost pits acts as rain water harvesting pits
• Long term income – to meet the big needs
– Valuable trees seems profitable, not fire wood
So, Multiple species for various purpose shall be
planted in polyculture – but it is a challenge

6. Polyculture is a big challenge
• Theoretically - combination of trees are good
• Practically, identifying symbiotic trees, which suits the
place and also economical, is a big challenge
• Albizia lebbeck, grows in dry lands, nitrogen fixer, and
Sandal grows well with it
– Idols made up of these woods get good international price
– But bad forest laws, hampered it
– Similarly big potential for Sandal + Mango…..

7. Neem – a MPTS, suits for almost all
environmental conditions of India
• Income from seed, wood, flowers also…
• Policy mattered – The policy “Coat fertilizers with
neem”- made Neem plantation profitable.
Thanks to GOI
Needs such correction in policies, subsidies ….
Which will make tree growing worth

8. Drunkards
menace
• Drunkards misusing
shade, pose security
problem and fire hazard
• My neighbor removed
trees only because of this
• Laws required to punish
heavily
– A month jail & Rs 5000 fine

9. Boundary
disputes
• Nowadays farmers go for fence, to avoid conflict
• So, plantation shall happen at 6ft from boundary
• GPS based survey will be of use
• Last row shall be straight growing trees, like palm but
restrictions discouraged palm

10. Water quality – a new challenge
• Many places TDS has crossed 2000 ppm,
• So, need to find trees and varieties suitable for
that water quality
• Bamboo shall be promoted near cities / towns
drainage water areas
• Need to find eucalyptus variety for drainage
water / polluted water areas

11. Marketability based
• Bamboo is required but marketability in TN?
• Many farmers just removed it because - no market
• Handling and value addition becomes unviable
• Similarly, Restrictions on Red Sanders wood (Lal
chandan) export made our dry lands barren
• Same for Sandal, a weed like tree, getting removed
by farmers, even today

12. Economics based
• Farmer gets Rs 800 / ton – fire wood
• Labor charges increased 5 times, since 2005
• So, growing trees for fire wood becomes uneconomical
• Our native valuable trees need to be freed from
restrictions
• Unless value additions / EXPORTS are encouraged, it is
difficult to promote agroforestry
– NEEM wood has got good export market, but not allowed.

13. Agroforestry shall be
100% under MoAFW
• As we need to find trees which suits for farm soil,
humus condition, symbiotic with other crops, needs
of animals etc,
• I prefer to say TREECULTURE, as the word forestry
creates lot of problems
MOAFW shall create a agroforestry division, like
horticulture division in extension

14. Good vision
but needs implementation
• NITI Aayog in 2016 Agri – Reforms said
“All trees grown in farm land shall be free from felling,
selling restriction”
- GOOD -
• But this is yet to happen
• Farmers are struggling to sell 50 years old Red Sanders
trees planted in boundaries of mango
VERY SAD / BAD

15. Corrections in law
• Cabinet secretariat added agroforestry under MoAFW
in 2017 as per Business allocation rules 1961 – Good
• But excluded agroforestry research. Needs to included
that also under MoAFW
• All produce including wood from farm land shall be
treated as agri produce as per AGMARK act 1937
• In Forest act, remove - need for permission for farm
land trees from forest dept.

16. Pay for good deeds,
instead of freebies
• Subsidies are provided for many
• Lot of freebies
• Payment for Environmental service(PES) is genuine
• Even plot owner who grows trees shall be paid
• It will increase the green cover, clean the air, improve the ground
water percolation, quality of gr water……
• So, please device a simple PES scheme, Say Rs 200 / tree/ pa or Rs
10000 / acre/pa
Good that GOI is making EB payment compulsory,
will save precious water

17. Ground water depletion / contamination
Bore depth crossed 1000 ft
what will happen for top soil moisture?

18. Finally
• Water starving India, needs to reduce over producing sugar
and growing coconut
• Convert 25% of it for rain bringing timber tree growing –
reduce wood import
• Conservation (Recovery) of endangered species (reserved
trees / scheduled trees) are not FARMER’S mandate, but of
MoEFCC
• All trees in farm shall be facilitated for felling, selling,
EXPORT or anything
– Polluting textile / leather … promoted for export,
Why not farm wood?

19. Solution is
• Timber development Board / authority under MoAFW
• It shall be CITES MA & SA as far as wood export is concerned.
• Development boards are meant to meet shortfall,
• Development boards of overproduced items (sugar) shall be
converted for increasing shortfall items
• Wood & Wooden products are imported > 1.5 lakh crores
every year
• Facilitation of emerging agroforestry will improve FARMERS
income, which is drought resilient in climate changing era

20. Our mission - 40% Green
(20% @forest lands - 20% @farm lands)
Thanking you all
• Email: ganesanrp@gmail.com
• Mob: +91 9443415023
• My self: Growing more than 40000 trees in dry land
– https://yourstory.com/tag/ganesan
• My representation for Timber Development Board
– https://www.slideshare.net/GanesanRP/representation-to-indias-members-
of-parliament-on-hurdles-for-tree-growing
• My video on Red sanders:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccz_wGe57t0