Getting to the root of the problem
Agroforestry in northern Uttaradit province provides an answer to deforestation and land rights conflicts, writes Sanitsuda Ekachai
In search of a solution to deforestation and the persisting rights conflicts between Thai forest dwellers and state authorities? Meet Sant Khamkhum. This owner of a small farm in northern Uttaradit province believes he has the answer to one of the country’s biggest problems.
“Agroforestry,” said the 60-year-old orchard farmer in Ban Dan community of a sub-district called Dan Nong Kham. “Us orchard farmers have been practicing it for decades. That’s why our forests are still healthy.”
Agroforestry, known as wanakaset in Thai, is a system of farming that emulates the workings of forest ecology to preserve the natural environment. It can also restore degraded forests to a state of good health.
“We are living proof that agroforestry can save the forests and provide food and income security to small farmers. It really is the answer,” he said.
“Stop running plantations, especially corn plantations,” he said. “They destroy the forest and the environment.”
“Then learn how a natural forest works and imitate its ways. Encourage the regrowth of indigenous trees make efforts to stop forest fires, if it’s quick forest regeneration you’re after,” he added.
“Meanwhile, grow your own food. And grow different kinds of fruit trees under different layers of forest umbrellas to provide yourself with a year-round income — and do it organically.”
But enthusiasts say for agroforestry to really take root, farmers must first change their money-chasing mindset.
“It takes a lot of determination, time and perseverance; if not, it’s easy to give up,” Uncle Sant said.
“State authorities must also stop evicting people living in the forest. Instead, they should appreciate the locals’ knowledge about the local forest ecology and support their agroforestry. This is the best way to save the forests.”
Uncle Sant was drawing on his experience as a former corn plantation farmer. By the time the government forest concessions in Uttaradit ended in the late 1960s, the once rich forest in his district was almost gone. What little remained was wiped away with a series of forest fires as farmers began to move in to turn the denuded areas into corn plantations.
His parents were among them. “But we soon found out that corn plantations were a deadend,” he said.
“The plantation needed expensive farm chemicals, particularly chemical herbicides, to thrive while corn prices remained low. Like other farmers, we were losing money. So we started looking for an alternative,” he added.
They found it in Laplae, a mountainous district nearby. There, farmers have been growing all sorts of fruit trees in the forests for generations. When they go into the forest to tend to their fruit trees, they always return home with all kinds of forest foods, which benefits their health and cuts into their daily food expenses.
Such deep dependence on the forest has enriched the Laplae villagers with knowledge of how their forests work, making them avid agroforestry farmers — and forest protectors.
After 10 years of corn plantation debacles, Uncle Sant ventured into agroforestry. It was an uphill battle, he recalled.
“First and foremost, the battle was in our mind,” he said. “Unless one really sees the uncertainty and danger posed by having a mono cash crop plantation, the hard work and long wait for the agroforestry orchards to bear fruit tempted many farmers to return to conventional farming,” he said.
Farmers still need to observe how different trees and other plants in the forest co-exist or complement one another in order to maximise land use and yields while minimising their labour input.
“From my experience, it’s important to let the remaining indigenous trees in the land grow back to provide shade and moisture. Then we can grow other plants and fruit trees of different heights with different need of sunlight in the same area.
“In my agroforest orchard, I have up to seven layers of trees and shrubs, from vegetables and herbs on the ground to different kinds of fruit trees to the towering indigenous forest trees at the very top.”
Grass, instead of being eliminated, becomes useful ground cover to retain soil moisture and prevent erosion. Cut dried grass is also left on the ground to become natural fertiliser.
It took about four years for his land on the denuded mountain to be restored. Three decades later, the area has become a green forest full of fruit trees.
He is not alone. Other farmers were similarly disillusioned by corn plantations and turned to agroforestry. It is estimated that they have at least restored more than 10,000 rai of forest altogether in his district. At present, agroforest farmers in Uttaradit have also formed a network to support one another, to exchange skills, knowledge, and marketing channels.
Thanks to agroforestry in most of Uttaradit now, the province has become famous for its lush forest, abundant fruits, particularly langsat, longgong, and durian which form the province’s main sources of income. Uttaradit is also fast emerging as an ecotourism destination.
When all eyes in the country are on Nan, an upper northern province where massive corn plantations have destroyed much of its watershed forest, there is much hope that the agroforestry model in Uttaradit can come to the rescue. Uncle Sant sees hopes, and obstacles.
“Agroforestry can definitely restore Nan’s watershed forests. It also can sustain the livelihoods of the forest dwellers there. But it’s crucial for state authorities to change their old way of thinking and acting with the forest dwellers first and foremost,” he said.
For starters, agroforestry in Uttaradit is possible because state authorities allow farmers to use national forest land, ensuring them of land security, which in turn enables farmers to invest their time and energy for sustainable forest conservation and a sustainable livelihood.
In short, Uttaradit is an exception to the rule. In the rest of Thailand, including Nan, small farmers in national forests are treated as criminals subjected to arrest, eviction and imprisonment under the draconian forest law based on the belief that forests and humans cannot harmoniously coexist.
“This view must change,” stressed Uncle Sant. Agroforestry is difficult when the forest laws and officials do not accept forest dwellers as partners of forest conservation, he noted. “They must stop harassing little people.”
Forest officials, mostly from an urban background, should also admit they do not really know how tropical forests in the localities work, or how to regenerate them naturally. “But people who live in forests like us do,” he said, criticising the mono tree farms such as eucalyptus and teak plantations favoured by forest authorities.
Such “reforestation” schemes, he said, do not only involve a huge budget — thus making them prone to corruption — but are often destructive to forest ecology and vulnerable to forest fires.
“Just compare the state teak plantations and the villagers’ agroforest in Uttaradit,” he said. “You can see the difference with your own eyes.”
Even though Uttaradit can provide an agroforestr y model and opportunities for useful consultations, the deforestation in Nan poses a much bigger challenge than what Uttaradit experienced half a century ago, cautioned Uncle Sant.
“In Uttaradit, we cleared the forest by hands, so there were a lot of indigenous tree roots to grow back quickly. In Nan, they use tractors, so there are not many trees left to regenerate. This means their agroforestry projects will take much more time and effort.”
Without state assistance or the promise of land security, poor villagers might not be able to endure the difficulties, forcing them to return to mono cash crops, he added.
Uncle Sant is fiercely critical of the government’s forest eviction policy and the violence involved.
“Why evict them? Where are you going to place them? People suffer, that’s why they take to the streets to air their grievances. But if you allow them to do agroforestry, they can live their lives peacefully, the forests will return, and the government will no longer have to deal with street demonstrations.
“In fact, many forest communities facing eviction are already engaging in agroforestry. Why don’t you allow them to live and restore the forest?” he asked in frustration.
His worries now, however, stem from the huge success of agroforestry in Uttaradit. Given the increasing fame of Uttaradit’s indigenous durian, especially the Long Laplae variety, many agroforestry farmers have succumbed to greed.
At present, many agroforestry plots have been cleared for mono durian plantations followed by the intensive use of toxic farm chemicals.
Attractive durian prices have also lured outside investors to buy up old agroforestry land while some farmers begin to cut langsat and longkong trees to grow durian.
Forest officials must intervene immediately if they see plantations creeping back into Uttaradit, he urged.
“We are living proof that agroforestry is the answer to deforestation. Come see what we’re doing. Come see how agroforestr y benefits the forest, the local people, the country,” said Uncle Sant.
“If our country’s goal is to protect our forests and improve the livelihood of local people, agroforestry is the way to go.”
We‘ are living proof that agroforestry can save the forests and provide food and income security to small farmers. It really is the answer. ‘ UNCLE’ SANT KHAMKHUM UTTARADIT- BASED FARMER AND ADVOCATE OF AGROFORESTRY