Community forestry for revitalising rural ecosystems: A case study

Forest Ecology and Management, 10 (1985) 209--232

209

Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam -- Printed in The Netherlands

COMMUNITY FORESTRY A CASE STUDY

ARUNA

FOR REVITALISING

K. SINGH, M.K. S I N G H ~ and O.A.J. M A S C A R E N H A S

RURAL

ECOSYSTEMS:

2

Department of Community Forestry Management, Xavier Management Institute, Jamshedpur --831 001 Bihar (India) Present Address: Post Graduate Department of Botany, J.C. College, Jamshedpur -- 831 001 Bihar (India) 2 College of Business and Administration, University of Detroit, MI 48221 (U.S.A.) (Accepted 24 April 1984)

ABSTRACT

Singh, A.K., Singh, M.K. and Mascarenhas, O.A.J., 1985. Community forestry for revitalising rural ecosystems: a case study. For. Ecol. Manage., 10: 209--232. A case study focusir.g on the socio-economic and ecological aspects of a forest-based village, Debrasai, in the Singhbhum District of Bihar, India was undertaken in 1980 to evolve village-specific community forestry package prograrnmes that could bring stability to the village both economically as well as ecologically. The village extending over 365.07 ha is inhabited by 361 people comprising 195 males and 166 females in 81 households. The villagers are by and large dependent on agriculture and forestry for their livelihood. The largest proportion of the land in the village is under agriculture whereas forests, in a highly degraded state, occupy only 5.7% of the total area. The villagers exploit the protected forests in their vicinity removing nearly 350.9 m t of fuelwood, 22.8 mt of small timber and 393.4 mt of fodder annually. The village has a manpower potential of 40 035 m a n days a year. Agriculture is the main source of employment at the m o m e n t absorbing 14 266 m a n days. The non-agricultural sector provides employment to an extent of 4433 m a n days. Fresh employment opportunities are needed to absorb nearly 5 3 % of m a n days of the village at present unused. Three land-resource, skill-based package programmes, a tasar silk culture, an energy plantation, and dairying have been suggested to generate employment opportunities and to meet the basic needs of the villagers. About 115 ha of the hitherto neglected land resource has been located in the village to sustain such community forestry (CF) programmes. Tasar culture suggested on 35 ha will alone generate employment to an extent of 18 690 m a n days from the fourth year of tasar silk plantation. A plantation, to provide energy and fodder, on 25 and 30 ha respectively is expected to yield fuelwood, timber and fodder to more than satisfy village needs. A dairy has been recommended as itwill generate income, provide nutrition and promote gobar gas production-- an alternative energy source to fuelwood. The cost--benefit analysis of these projects indicates their economic feasibility with the cost likely to be recovered in 4.5 years. Debrasai being an agricultural village, a land-inequity compensatory scheme has been suggested for C F project net benefit sharing, ensuring reasonable benefit flows to the landless and marginal farmers.

0378-1127/85/$03.30

© 1985 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

210 INTRODUCTION

Rural ecosystems in India are generally low-energy based systems with solar energy and rainfall as their main driving variables. The per capita demands of the people are low and are by and large met by the locally available renewable resources. But with a rising population the total demands are increasing, exerting increasing pressure upon the natural resource bases, which are consequently being eroded. This phenomenon is all the more conspicuous around the villages of forest areas, where gross neglect of the deforested land has further compounded the problem by shifting the economic and ecological balance of the rural systems. A case study of one such village -- Debrasai in the Singhbhum District of Bihar, India is presented in this paper. Solutions for the problems of deteriorating ecological and socio-economic conditions have been sought in (1) reviving productivity of the waste and sub-optimally used lands through ecologically sound package programmes and (2)generating land based employment opportunities, in a bid to make the village selfreliant in both energy and economy. METHODOLOGY The selection of the village for the present case study was based on the following criteria: (1) Poverty; (2) Forest dependence; (3) Availability of barren and sub-optimally used land; (4) Receptiveness of people to new programmes like community forestry (CF); (5) Accessibility to the village; (6) Ecological imbalance. Data were collected through questionnaires designed at both the village and the household level. A census survey was conducted for demographic and social aspects, need profile and land distribution pattern. The agricultural aspects were based on a randomly selected 20% of the total households. The data for fuelwood and fodder were collected in terms of headloads the villagers normally carry. Headloads were then converted into kilograms or tonnes (t) after random weighings, which gave rough figures of approximately 25 and 20 kg per headload for fuelwood and fodder respectively. Barren and sub-optimally used lands were marked and identified for CF adoption. Pits (1.8 m X 1.2 m X 1.2 m) were dug in these for studying the soft profile. Soil samples from lands put to different uses and from various depths were chemically analysed for pH, organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The data thus generated through these multi-disciplinary approaches were used to provide suggestions for bringing back the waste and barren lands to production, and to determine the feasibility of three CF packages.

211 SITE DESCRIPTION

Location and physiography The village, Debrasai, (22.5°N latitude, 85.8°E longitude, 365.07 ha in area), is situated about 37 km south of Chaibasa (District headquarters) in the Jagannathpur Block of Singhbhum District, Bihar, India. The topography is rugged conforming to the hilly terrain of the Chotanagput Plateau on which it is situated, at an altitude of about 150 meters above mean sea level. Debrasai falls in the dry sub-humid eco-climatic zone with mostly dry deciduous forests. Although most of the forest within the village has been reduced to a state of scrub due to biotic pressures, large chunks of protected and revenue forests still surround the village. Most of the d o m i n a n t tree species {Shorea robusta, Terminalia tomentosa, Bassia latifolia, Semecarpus anacardium) have a cultural significance and the tree--man relationship is very striking in these areas, particularly during religious and harvest functions.

Climate The climate of this area is typically monsoon. The rainy season commences in the last week of June and continues until October. This is followed by winter (November--February) and summer (March--June). These seasons show marked variation in temperature, rainfall and humidity. About 1300-1400 mm of rainfall is received annually. A typical characteristic of this region is that some rainfall is received practically every month. However, 78--83% of the total rainfall is recorded during the monsoons, followed by 5--8% in winter, and 10--17% during summer. Nevertheless, droughts of different intensities are n o t u n c o m m o n . The year 1979 saw one of the worst droughts of the decade with only 49.7% (530.7 mm) of the average rainfall of the last ten years {1066.9 mm) associated with high temperatures (45°C).

Water resource There is no river or lake near the village and surface water collection is negligible. Rainfall is the only source of water to the crops. A survey by the Central Ground Water Board, New Delhi reveals that the ground water varies between 2.5 and 16.0 m below ground level during the summer months, and wells may even become dry on the hard rocky terrain, creating tremendous hardships for the local people. The villagers resort to digging open, uncemented wells in the low lands for domestic requirements. But such areas are scarce and consequently such wells are so few as to be insufficient to cater for the needs of the locals.

212 SOCIO-ECONOMIC OVER-VIEW

Debrasai is a tribal village of 361 people (195 males and 166 females) living in 81 households. Only 21% of the population is literate i.e., can read and write. The village has a primary and middle school within a 1 km radius but the students have to walk about 6 km for high school. Medical facilities are available 8 km from Debrasai; however, transportation is rather difficult. A weekly market is held in a village 3 km away. Rice is the staple food of the people in this area. The villagers are strongly addicted to rice beer and c o u n t r y liquor f e r m e n t e d from the flowers of Bassia latifolia. Debrasai presents a typical land-based e c o n o m y with about 93% (75 households) of the households owning land and 91% of the population engaged in farming. Of the total 186.7 ha of private land (according to our census survey as against 182.9 ha vide the Circle Office Jagannathpur Block, Chaibasa, Bihar), the m a x i m u m is held by the m e d i u m followed by the large, small and marginal group of farmers (Table I). The farmers by and large cultivate only one crop -- paddy -- mainly because of a lack of irrigation facilities, and poor soil fertility. The total acreage under paddy is 147.8 ha which is 79.20% of the total cultivated area. At an average yield of 0.88 t/ha* the total paddy produced in the village is 130.06 t yielding 78 t of polished rice {60% of paddy).

Manpower potential and employment opportunities All activities in Debrasai, from the collection of fuel, fodder, food and timber from the forest to food production in agriculture, are largely dependent on man and cattle power. The man-to-work load (population in working age group and its e m p l o y m e n t load) relationship in Debrasai has thus been worked out here to assess the man days availability, its utilization and the possibilities of introducing new e m p l o y m e n t generating programmes. Assuming full participation of people between 15 and 60 years of age in economic activities, the working strength in Debrasai is 244 people comprising 138 males and 106 females. Nine males and six females are, however, presently employed outside the village, and are n o t available for day-to-day activities in the village. The working force at the site therefore is of 229 people. Women however, are primarily engaged in domestic activities like washing, cooking, and fuel and fodder collection, requiring at least one female per household. This leaves only 19 women for outside activities. Assuming 275** and 240*** working days a year for male (M) and female (F) respectively, the man days (md) potential of the village is estimated to be (129 M X 275 days) + (19 F × 240 days) = 40 035 md. *Average of two normal rainfall years 1975--76 and 1976--77 for Singhbhum District, (Statistical Handbook, Bihar, 1978). **52 Sundays + 10 festivals+ 10 social obligations + 18 medical and marketing = 90 nonworking days. * * * A n additional 35 days for physical incapacity.

213 TABLEI Classes of farmers and land-holding pattern in Debrasai Land-ownership range (ha) 0.00 (landless) < 1 ha (marginal) 1--2 ha (small) 2.01--4.00 ha (medium) > 4 ha (large) Total

No. of households 6 (7.4) 8 (9.9) 28 (34.6) 27 (33.3) 12 (14.8) 81 (lOO.O)

No. of people

Land holding (ha)

27 (7.5) 37

0.00

0.00

6.80 3.6) 41.67 (22.3) 72.56 (38.9) 65.63 (35.2) 186.66 (1oo.o)

0.18

(10.3)

125 34.6) 120 (33.2) 52 (14.4) 361 (lOO.O)

Per capita land-holding (ha)

0.33 0.60 1.26 100.00

Figures in parentheses are percent of the total.

Manpower absorption is, at present, mainly in agricultural activities, extending from June-July to October-November. Our sample survey indicated that only 35.6% (14 266 md) of the manpower of the village, at the rate of 78 md/ha/year, is required by the agricultural sector of 182.9 hectares. In the non,agricultural sector, seven males and two females are primarity occupied in the ~dllage as artisans or teachers amounting to 2405 {1925 M + 480 F) md of e m p l o y m e n t annually. Further, partial e m p l o y m e n t through secondary occupation in non-agricultural activities is also available to six people (5 M + 1 F) equivalent to 326 md within the village and to 41 (26 M + 15 F) people equivalent to 1702 md outside the village. Thus altogether the non-agricultural activities account for 4433 md or 11.1% of the total e m p l o y m e n t potential of the village. The agricultural and non-agricultural activities together provide 46.7% e m p l o y m e n t of the total working md potential leaving 53.3% md without e m p l o y m e n t . Thus there is need for generating other e m p l o y m e n t opportunities to an extent of 21 317 md for full utilization of the available manpower and thus for improving the village economy.

Basic need profile The man-resource relationships for the study year 1979--80 are depicted in Fig. 1. The basic village needs for fuel, fodder and timber have been analysed here in order to assess the total demand, availability and the possibilities of meeting the deficits through appropriate CF programmes.

Fuel. The source of fuelwood supply to Debrasai is the forest around it which is in a highly degraded state. Wood is used for all fuel requirements

214 273.7 mt --

I

14266

I

FARMYARD

MANURE ~-ANIMAL

~.

r ~2;,.¢.} S,O

o

r-) PRIMARY PRODUCER

j.~6,_

9

Others

"(T t

~;OURCE

POWER

MANDAYS -~ EXCRETA ?

.

o STORAGE

0 CONSUMER

$ HEAT LOSS ( A f t e r Odum ond Odum 1976)

Fig. 1. Man-resource relationship in the low energy state system, Debrasai. *Pad ffipaddy; pul = p u l s e s ; v e g ffi v e g e t a b l e s ; c = c a t t l e ; o = o t h e r s . except lighting. A sample survey indicates a total consumption of 350.9 t of fuelwood in the village at the rate of 0.97 t per capita annually. This consumption rate is much higher than the generalisation made by the National Commission on Agriculture, India, 1976 (0.2 t per capitaper year)and Loftas (1979) (0.35 t per capita per year). This extravagance is possibly due to the fact that the villagers have easy access to the forest and are hardly concerned a b o u t fuel conservation. Through proper education programmes on fuel conservation however, it should be possible to bring down their fuel consumption t o at least 0.5 t per capita per year i.e., a total of 180.5 t annually for the whole village.

Fodder. A survey for the year ending June 1980 (Table II) reveals that the villagers were able to procure 1175.04 t of fodder inclusive of a b o u t 440.64 t of agricultural residue, which was mostly p a d d y straw for their cattle population of 204 (Table III). This is equivalent to a b o u t 15.78 kg per animal and is quite substantial. As regards the source, there is no managed pasture or intentional fodder production in Debrasai. The agricultural residue w a s 37.5% of the total fodder procurement. Nearly 46.4% of the green fodder was produced through collection of weeds growing in the agricultural fields, whereas a large proportion (53.6%) o f the herbage came from the forest area (Table II).

215 TABLE II Annual fodder consumption profile in Debrasai (year ending June 1980) Natue of fodder

Total village consumption (t/year)

Paddy straw Green herbage: (1) agriculture fields (2) forests

Total (1 + 2) Grand total

Cattle consumption (t per animal/year)

440.64

2.16

340.96

--

(46.4%)a 393.44

--

(53.6)a 1175

Per cent of total

37.5

3.60 5.76

62.5 100.00

aValues in parentheses represent percentage of total. TABLE

Ill

N u m b e r of livestock in Debrasai as of June 1980

Cattle

Others

Total

Bullocks

Cows

Goats

Sheep

Fowl

120

84

85

66

371

726

Timber. The villagers require timber mostly for const ruct i on and repair of their houses. An assessment of the timber r e q u i r e m e n t over the last 15 years indicates an annual r e q u i r e m e n t of 810 poles o f small t i m ber for the village. Poles, 3--5 m long with a diameter of 8--13 cm are c o m m o n l y used for c o n s tr u ctio n in this area. The total annual pole r e q u i r e m e n t is thus approximately equivalent to 32 m 3 in volume and 22.8 t in weight. The source of timber, as in the case of f u e l w o o d and fodder, is the neighbouring forest. Minor forest products (MFP). Various MFP of f o o d and commercial value such as edible fruits of Bassia latifolia, Eugenia jarnbolana, Diospyros melanoxylon and medicinal fruits of Terminalia chebula and T. belerica, oil seeds o f Schleichera trijuga, Bassia latifolia and Shorea robusta, and leaves of Shorea robusta are available in the forests a r o u n d Debrasai. The locals collect these to partially m e e t their f o o d r e q u i r e m e n t and to supplement their family income. The sun-dry flowers of Bassia latifolia are stored and used to make c o u n t r y liquor. Its seeds yield oil which is used for cooking and in the soap industry. Oil e x t r a c t e d f r o m the seeds o f Schleichera trijuga and Shorea robusta is also used for cooking purposes. The seeds of t he latter are also boiled, flavoured with spices, and eaten. The leaves of Shorea robusta are made into ' d o n a ' (cups) f o r use in village hotels. The fruits of Terrninalia chebula and T. belerica are of medicinal value and are m a r k e t e d after drying. It was f o u n d (Table IV) t hat 72 households (88.9% of the total) in the

216 TABLE IV Minor forest products (MFP) collection by households belonging to the different farmer groups

MFP

No. of households

Total

Landless

Marginal

Small

Medium

Large

Edible fruits Medicinal fruits:

6

8

22

25

9

70

Terminalia

2

3

--

--

--

5

chebula T. b e l e r i c a

2

3

--

--

--

5

3

5

8

10

4

30

4 4

5 6

6 6

3 4

1 2

19 22

Oil seeds: Schleichera trijuga Bassia latifolia Shorea robusta

village generally collect one or the other M F P mentioned above. The remaining nine households, comprising one small, two medium and six large farmers, did not collect any MFP. It is interesting to note that while households representing the landless and marginal farmers collect M F P of all categories, including those of exclusive medicinal value, the farmers belonging to other groups collected M F P of food value only. Table V reveals that the m a x i m u m collection made was of edible fruits (562 kg) of Bassia latifolia,Eugenia jambolana and Diospyros melanoxylon followed by oil seeds of Schleichera trijuga (311 kg), Bassia latifolia(197 kg) and Shorea robusta (102 kg); and medicinal fruits of T. belerica (32 kg); and Terminalia chebula (25 kg). The highest amount of M F P was collected by the landless households (351 kg) followed by marginal (304 kg), small (288 kg), medium (201 kg) and large (85 kg) farmers revealing an inverse relationship between the amount of M F P collected and land-ownership group in this forest-based village. Further, while the low income groups, the landless, marginal and small farmers, sell their M F P collections to supplement their family income, the higher income groups of medium and large farmers collect solely for their o w n use. L a n d resource a n d its use p a t t e r n

Under the existing land use pattern (Table VI), the suboptimally used land (long fallows of 2--5 years + cultivated waste + uncultivable waste + barrenland + degraded forests) amounts to 115.39 ha or 31.6% of the total. This resource, if properly developed, could possibly meet the villager'sneeds for fuel, fodder, timber and food. The soil of the fallow and waste lands was examined for its production potential for subsequent adoption in the C F programmes.

217 TABLE V Annual collection (kg) of various minor forest products (MFP) by landless and different farmer groups for their own consumption and sale MFP

Landless and farmer groups

Landless Edible fruits: Household consumption (HC} Sale (S)

96

Marginal 76

Total

Small

Medium

Large

120

104

36

432

60

30

40

00

00

130

156

106

160

104

36

562

Medicinal fruits: T. chebula (HC) (S)

O0 10

O0 15

O0 00

O0 00

O0 00

O0 25

(HC) (S)

10 00 15

15 00 17

00 00 00

00 00 00

00 00 00

25 00 32

15

17

00

00

00

32

T. belerica

Oil seeds:

S. trijuga

(HC) (S)

40 20

48 25

55 22

66 00

35 00

-244 67

B. latifolia

(HC) (S)

60 30 50

73 28 40

77 18 10

66 15 00

35 6 00

311 97 100

S. robusta

(HC) (S)

80 20 10

68 17 08

28 23 00

15 16 00

6 8 00

197 84 18

30

25

23

16

8

102

351

304

288

201

85

1229

Total

Soil potential o f the lands to be tapped for the c o m m u n i t y forest programme Most o f the land lying u n p r o d u c t i v e in Debrasai is upland, a n d is p r e d o m i n a n t l y red s a n d y l o a m , 1 . 0 - - 1 . 5 m deep. Mixed calcareous and m u r r a m y soils are f o u n d in s o m e areas. T h e soil is acidic in reaction, with a p H o f 4.4 to 4.7 (Table VII), a n d as is c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f acid soils, t h e fertility status o f the Debrasai softs is also p o o r . T h e organic c a r b o n c o n t e n t is l o w ( 0 . 1 7 - 0.42%), and t h e available p h o s p h o r u s ( 2 0 - - 2 5 k g / h a P 2 O s ) a n d p o t a s s i u m ( 1 2 3 - - 1 4 0 k g / h a K 2 0 ) status is m e d i u m . Values f o r n i t r o g e n have n o t been given in t h e Table, b u t acidic softs are n o r m a l l y very deficient in n i t r o g e n . In the C h o t a n a g p u r softs n i t r o g e n is t h e m o s t d e f i c i e n t e l e m e n t (Mandal a n d Sinha, 1 9 7 2 ) limiting t h e g r o w t h a n d yield o f the p r i m a r y p r o d u c e r s . These n u t r i e n t - i m p o v e r i s h e d softs are i n a d e q u a t e f o r agricultural crops, m o r e so

218 TABLE VI Land-use classification of Debrasai (as of 1978--79) Land-use categories

Area (ha)

Per cent of total

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

365.07 20.71 24.39 26.64 24.75 43.29 42.39 182.90 0.70 182.20

100.0 5.67 6.68 7.29 6.78 11.86 11.61 50.09 0.19 49.91

Area of village Forest Non-agricultural use Barren and uncultivable land Cultivable waste Long fallow Current fallow Net sown area (a) Irrigated (b) Unirrigated

Source: District Statistical Office, Chaibasa, Bihar. TABLE VII Chemical analysis of soil in the barren and sub-optimally used lands in Debrasai Soil depth (cm) 0-- 10 10-- 30 30-- 60 60--120

pH

4.5 4.5 4.7 4.5

Organic carbon 0.17 0.42 0.32 0.29

Available kg/ha

P20s

K20

24.7 24.0 20.5 22.4

139.8 134.3 128.0 131.4

Each value is an average of four soil pits. Values for N are erroneous and have therefore not been included, but soil is mostly Ndeficient. d u e to w a n t o f irrigation. T h e y d o h o w e v e r , h a v e t h e p o t e n t i a l t o s u p p o r t grasses a n d t r e e c r o p s , f o r fuel, t i m b e r a n d f o d d e r p u r p o s e s . A c c o r d i n g l y p a c k a g e p r o g r a m m e s w i t h suitable species m a t c h i n g t h e basic n e e d s o f t h e village h a v e b e e n designed a n d are p r e s e n t e d later. LAND USE ORIENTATION: A SUGGESTION T h e analysis o f t h e u t i l i z a t i o n p r o f i l e f o r fuel a n d f o d d e r , a n d t h e l a n d use p a t t e r n in D e b r a s a i , reveals t h e possibility o f d e v e l o p i n g specific p r o d u c t i o n c o m p a r t m e n t s t o m e e t t h e village n e e d s f r o m w i t h i n its o w n l a n d resource. A c c o r d i n g l y t h e r e o r i e n t a t i o n o f t h e c o m p a r t m e n t s (Fig. 2) is suggested, b a s e d o n t h e soft-plant c o m p a t i b i l i t y , p a s t l a n d use, t o p o g r a p h y , a n d n e e d . T h e r e l a t i v e l y b e t t e r areas have b e e n suggested f o r f o d d e r c u l t i v a t i o n a n d groves a n d o r c h a r d s , a n d t h e w a s t e lands f o r e n e r g y p l a n t a t i o n s a n d tasar. A c o m p a r t m e n t - w i s e analysis follows.

219

Fuelwood from Bunds (gha)

/

5.5t/ha/yr.

] ~/..

/X

24 75

~.~A

"

(31.61 °1o)

Fuelwood '

'

\

~

, "~0\

Hu,man 1

l

"~"

BX~

/

/

~'-

I

-~

r°ddeyr, -ICattle-2041

otherres{dues Fig. 2. Mode] proposed for land use reorientation in Debrasai. A, existing land usepattern; B, after management (allvalues are in hectare). NSA = net sown area; Nag = nonagricultural use; F = forest; B + Uw = barren + uncultiv a b l e w a s t e ; C w = c u l t i v a b l e w a s t e ; L f ffi l o n g f a l l o w ; C f = c u r r e n t f a l l o w ; E p = e n e r g y plantation; T = taasar culture; GrO = groves and orchards; P = pasture; AgD = agricultural development.

Energy compartment A sustained system of firewood production to integrate site-specific fast growing indigenous and exotic species with the local need and to increase the overall yield of the land through agro-forestry is suggested, by reorienting the present land use to include (1) energy plantation on 25.64 ha, and (2) farm forestry on agricultural bunds on 9.0 ha. The energy plantation can be developed on part of the degraded forest and barren + uncultivable land. Fast growing species good for fuelwood can be grown to yield 192.3 t of w o o d annually at the rate of 7.5 t/ha year-' (Singh and Mascarenhas, 1981). More w o o d can be provided by the tree farms proposed on the agricultural bunds. An ongoing study of five villages in Ranchi District, Bihar (Singh, M.K., unpublished) reveals that for twelve operational plots in a hectare, at a bund base of 50 cm approximately, 4% of the agricultural land is available as bunds for tree farming. Using this factor, the total agricultural land in Debrasai (net sown area + current fallow = 182.90 + 42.39 = 225.29 ha} can support trees on a b o u t 9.0 ha. At a production rate o f 5.5 t/ha for fast growing species (to be confirmed experimentally as it is based on annual tree productivity × density) and additional supply of 49.6 t of fuelwood will be ensured annually. The t w o compartments together will thus p r o d u c e 241.9 t of fuelwood per annum. There is a requirement of 22.8 t timber b u t no separate compartment has been included for this. The remaining 38.6 t can be stored for emergency use.

220

Fodder compartment The yearly fodder consumption of the 204 cattle in Debrasai is 1175 t comprising 734.4 t of green forage and 440.6 t of straw (Table II). To meet this requirement a fodder compartment is envisaged on 30 ha of the present long fallow land. Using the forage production factor of 25 t/ha in managed grasslands (Singh and Mascarenhas, 1981), this c o m p a r t m e n t will ensure a return of 750 t of green fodder annually. The deficit in the total can be met, as at present, by the use of p a d d y straw, other agricultural residues, weeds, and cattle feeds. The pasture c o m p a r t m e n t should therefore be well-managed and more legumes should be grown for improving both fodder quality as well as soil fertility. The species r e c o m m e n d e d for this, as mentioned in the C o m m u n i t y Forestry Programme, include a mixture of trees, shrubs, grasses and legumes.

Groves and orchards A c o m p a r t m e n t conspicuously missing in the village is groves and orchards. This is envisaged on the present cultivable waste land spanning 24.75 ha. On this fruit trees like Bassia latifolia, Eugenia jambolana, Artocarpus integrifolia and Tamarindus indica, and shade trees like Ficus religiosa, F. bengalensis and Azadirachta indica, can be grown for economic, religious and aesthetic reasons. Besides the cultivable waste lands, such trees as those suggested above can also be grown along the pastures proposed for the present long fallow.

A compartment (tasar silk) to promote cottage industry A c o m p a r t m e n t strongly r e c o m m e n d e d for Debrasai is tasar silk culture on 35.00 ha available as part of the present barren + uncultivable and long fallow lands. This area is climatically very conducive to the growth of Terminalia spp, the host plants for rearing the tasar silkworm Antheraea mylitta. Terminalia, particularly T. arjuna, can grow well on the rain-fed acid soils o f Debrasai. The presence of the Central Silk Board at Cha/basa to train the locals, as well as to absorb their output, further strengthens the recommendation for the establishment of this compartment. The details of this plantation are dealt with later, in the package programme for tasar.

Agricultural'extension The next compartment, current fallow, i.e. fallow for one year (42.39 ha) is r e c o m m e n d e d for agricultural development. The soil and climate of Debrasai is very suitable for t o m a t o cultivation which at present occupies a b o u t 6.94 ha (3.7% o f the total) producing 5.42 t of t o m a t o fruit annually at the rate o f 0.78 t/ha. The yield per hectare can be increased through sup-

221 plementary irrigation and organic manure, and the area under cultivation can be extended to economically support a ketchup cottage industry. Villagers in and around Debrasai could also be encouraged to pool their crop for the ketchup plant. If the entire current fallow of Debrasai is taken up for tomato cultivation, even at the present production rate, 33 t of t o m a t o could be p r o d u c e d annually. Besides tomato and other vegetables, a b o u t 12.70 t of pulses and 1.15 t of oil seeds are produced at present. The yield of all these can further be improved provided modern agrotechnology is introduced and the farmers are trained to manage their fields in a more scientific way. The agricultural c o m p a r t m e n t (net sown area) also needs to be mentioned as it occupies a b o u t 50% of the total village land. Only one crop, paddy, is grown in Debrasai due to lack of irrigation. High yielding varieties of paddy have n o t even been introduced, as they require water, fertilizers, and weed killers, in substantial quantities, which the farmers cannot afford. Although no change is suggested in the total net sown area, efforts must be directed, at least to utilize fully the carrying capacity of the land. This will help in improving the land use efficiency, the yield, and consequently, the e c o n o m y of the village. Lack of irrigation however, is a major hurdle in Debrasai, and urgently needs to be overcome for efficient management of the production system in the village. COMMUNITY FORESTRY PACKAGE PROGRAMMES The foregoing analysis of the land resource and manpower suggests Debrasai's potentiality for sustaining viable C o m m u n i t y Forestry (CF) programmes. The acceptability and relevance of such programmes to the villagers should however be carefully ascertained in the light of the production potential of the land, existing skills in the village and economic benefits to ensure the participation of the people at all levels. As Singhbhum falls in the potentially rich belt of tasar culture for which improved technology is also available, a package for tasar production has been worked out, together with its cost-benefit analysis, and could be launched in Debrasai. The packages for fuel and fodder have also been developed for implementation in the second phase. Further, the feasibility of substituting fuelwood by biogas for domestic use has also been discussed.

Package I: Tasar silk cottage industry Tasar silk is regarded as a minor forest product. It is extracted from cocoons produced on certain plants by the larvae of the moth, Antheraea mylitta. Arjun (Terminalia arjuna), Asan (Terminalia tomentosa) and Sal (Shorea robusta) are the m o s t c o m m o n plants for rearing silkworms in the Singhbhum area. Terminalia arjuna is preferred for tasar silk culture under managed conditions, as this species grows fast, producing an abundance of foliage within t w o years of its plantation, thus enabling silkworm rearing

222

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223

from the third year. This species is c o m m o n in the forest of Chotanagpur, and is easy to raise even on poor soils and under the prevailing climatic conditions of this area. A plant population density of 1.2 m X 1.2 m has been experimentally found convenient and most economical for tasar culture on Terminalia arjuna (Narasimhanna, 1979). One hectare o f plantation produces a b o u t 17 t of foliage biomass in the third year, which can sustain 350 broods of silkworm yielding 18 kahans (18 X 1280 = 23 040 cocoons). From the fourth year of plantation however, one hectare can sustain 450 broods increasing the cocoon yield to a b o u t 25 kahans. The expected cost of the plantation and its maintenance is presented in Table VIII. Tasar silk culture on 35 ha and subsequent reeling of cocoons from the fourth year onward will generate considerable e m p l o y m e n t (Table IX). In the very first year, raising of the plantation will generate e m p l o y m e n t to an extent of 6650 man days, thus raising the present e m p l o y m e n t opportunities by 16.6%. A substantial e m p l o y m e n t opportunity again becomes available with the rearing phase commencing from the fourth year of plantation*. From the fourth year onward rearing alone has the potential of generating 19.7% of the total e m p l o y m e n t requirement. Maintenance and rearing together with reeling (silk extraction) will together b o o s t the fourth year labour e m p l o y m e n t to 46.8% of the manpower potential of the village, thus more than satisfying the total village e m p l o y m e n t need. Two crops of cocoons can be reared in a year in this area. The m o n s o o n rearing begins in July--August extending over a period of 45 days. Rearing on 35 ha requires a b o u t 12 390 man days. As the village does n o t have this labour strength the population in the 12--15 years age group can be employed part-time, as a part of their education in tasar rearing. Otherwise temporary labour could be attracted from outside or the culture area could be reduced to 30 ha. Another constraint on labour is the simultaneous requirement for p a d d y culture. Nevertheless, this can be managed with a well-planned time frame for both projects. Paddy culture extends over a period of about four months, though the busiest time is during soft preparation and transplantation, which are over by mid-July. Labour can then be diverted towards tasar rearing for 45 days before the workers return to the paddy fields for weeding. The cocoon yield, estimated at approximately 875 kahans from 35 ha, can be taken up for silk extraction during the lean period from December to April or May. Extraction o f silk from 875 kahans of cocoons will require a b o u t 10 430 man days making it possible to provide work for at least one person from each household in Debrasai for a period of 4--5 months. At the present wage rate of Rs. 12.00 a day every household will thus earn a b o u t Rs. 300.00 a m o n t h o f 25 working days. *Strictly speaking, as per Tasar Research Institute's findings on economic plantations of Terminalia arjuna, foliage for tasar culture is available even in the third year of p l a n t life; about 18 kahans may be produced per hectare (Narasimhanna, 1979). However, we consider exploitation only from the fourth year onwards.

224 TABLE IX Cost and employment potential of tasar culture and cocoon reeling on 35 ha Year and activity

1 Plantation 2 Maintenance 3 Maintenance 4 Maintenance Cocoon rearing Cocoon seed labour @ Rs. 12/-- per day Cocoon reelin~ @ Rs. 106/-- per

Per ha

For 35 ha

Cost (Rs.)

Employment (man days)

Total cost (Rs.)

Total man

Percent of total (40035 man days) employment need fulfilled

3463 2077 2285 2513

190 65 65 65

121,205 72,695 79,975 87,972

6650 2275 2275 2275

16.6 5.7 5.7 5.7

220 2700

-225

7,770 94,500

-7875

-19.7

2650

--

92,750

--

--

1728

144

60,480

5040

12,6

1200

100

42,000

3500

8.7

9283

534

324,905

kahan

labour @ 144 man days p e r kahan Waste s p i n n i n g @ 4 man days per k a h a n @ Rs. 1 3 / labour cost

Total

18,690

46.7

Package H: energy plantation T h e s e c t i o n o n land-use r e o r i e n t a t i o n designed t o m e e t t h e basic n e e d s o f t h e villagers, r e c o m m e n d s a b o u t 25 h a o f w a s t e and s u b - o p t i m a l l y u s e d lands f o r e n e r g y p l a n t a t i o n . S o m e of t h e i m p o r t a n t f a s t - g r o w i n g species w h i c h m a y g r o w well u n d e r t h e existing soil a n d c l i m a t i c c o n d i t i o n s o f D e b r a s a i include: Acacia auriculiformis, Acacia nilotica, Albizia lebbek,

Leucaena leucocephala, Sesbania grandiflora, Gmelina arborea, and Dalbergia sissoo ( I n d i a n G r a s s l a n d a n d F o d d e r R e s e a r c h I n s t i t u t e , 1 9 7 9 ; U n i t e d States N a t i o n a l A c a d e m y o f Sciences, 1 9 7 9 , 1980). T h e s e species can be g r o w n as a m i x e d c u l t u r e t o p r o v i d e g r e a t e r species diversity a n d s t a b i l i t y t o t h e stand. T h e c o s t - - b e n e f i t analysis o f an e n e r g y p l a n t a t i o n p a c k a g e w i t h Leucaena leucocephala has b e e n w o r k e d o u t b y Singh a n d M a s c a r e n h a s ( 1 9 8 1 ) f o r B a r u d i h , also in t h e S i n g h b h u m District. Since D e b r a s a i falls in m o r e or less t h e s a m e e c o - c l i m a t i c z o n e , t h e p a c k a g e c o u l d also be tried in this locality.

225

Package III A) Gobar gas as a substitute for fuelwood. Debrasai has 204 cattle. These medium sized animals generally each yield about 10 kg of fresh dung per day. If all of the dung is collected, almost the entire domestic energy requirement (91.8%) can be satisfied if gobar gas technology is adopted (Table X). Should gobar gas production be adopted with the CF project then it would be desirable to shift the priority from energy plantation to fodder production to maintain the quality of the livestock. This would inevitably also promote milk production. Such a model of energy flow can n o t only be approved on its ecological merits but also because it reduces the loss of essential elements, since the processed dung from the gobar gas digester is an excellent manure and can be returned to the soil to make up for the nutrients removed through fodder harvest. The fodder production c o m p a r t m e n t as a result could remain nutritionally stable. For a family size of 4--5 members, a gobar gas plant of 2--3 m 3 capacity costing about Rs. 3000.00 to Rs. 4000.00 will suffice. The Janata gobar gas units according to the latest figures will cost even less--that is about Rs. 2000.00 (The Indian Nation, 1982). In economically underdeveloped areas like Singhbhum the cost of the plant is 50% subsidised by the Government for marginal and small farmers. Facilities for loans from banks are also available on convenient terms and conditions. A family-size Janata gobar gas plant can be conveniently installed at the equivalent of the cost of fuelwood consumed in two years by a family of 5 members; (i.e., an annual consumption of 5.0 t of wood costs Rs. 1000.00 at the rate of Rs. 200.00/t). However, the villagers do n o t incur this recurrent cost on fuelwood as it is collected free from the forest. Thus a demonstration as to how the gobar gas unit can facilitate cooking and lighting will be required before the villagers would be expected to accept this technology. TABLE

X

Debrasai biogas production potential using gobar gas technology Cattle population

204

A m o u n t of

Gobar gas expected

Total need

Proportion of the total

Slurry output

expected (kg/day)

(mS/day)

(m3/day)

fuel need met (%)

(kg/day)

2040 a

75.1 b

81.8 c

91.8

1469 d

fresh dung

a@ 10 kg fresh dung a day per m e d i u m sized animal (cow, bullock, buffalo). b@ 0.037 mS/kg of fresh dung. c@ 0.227 m 3 gobar gas per capita per day for cooking. d@ 7 2 % of fresh dung. At least 5 0 % of the total recovered is proposed for recycling to the fodder compartment. Source: Khadi and Village Industries Commission (1980).

226

B) A dairy project. The biggest constraint for a good dairy project is water scarcity. Facilities to exploit underground water supplies will have to be provided to ensure good yields of fodder crops if a viable dairy scheme is to be sustained. The area demarcated for energy plantation can then be transferred to fodder production with a mixed culture of compatible timber and fodder species. A total of more than 50 ha of land will thus be available for fodder culture in the village. Considering the soil status, species like Sesbania

sesban, S. grandiflora, Leucaena leucocephala, Pennisetum pedicelatum, Brachiaria brizantha, Andropogon gayanus, Sorghum sudensis, Medicago sativa, and Vigna sinensis may have better prospects as fodder species in a mix with species such as Dalbergia sissoo, Acacia nilotica and Gmelina arborea, as timber-cure-fodder species (Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, 1979; United States National A c a d e m y of Sciences, 1979; Rajendra.Agricultural University, 1980). Under the prevailing conditions of Debrasai about 5 t of green fodder per hectare can be expected at an interval of 2--3 months with the above species. Thus nearly 2.77 t of fodder could be available daffy [(50 ha × 5 t)/90 days]. This a m o u n t will support about 278 cattle. The annual input-output structure of fodder production on 50 ha is given in Table XI. The managed fodder c o m p a r t m e n t together with agricultural residues will allow the number of cattle to be increased from 204 to at least 300. Even if only 50% of the cattle are potential milk producers and only 50% of these producing milk at any one time, at the minimum expectation of 5 1 of milk per cow, 375 1 (75 × 5 1) of milk, equivalent to Rs. 937.50 (at the rate of Rs. 2.50/1) will be available to the villagers daily. In addition, the dung from the 300 cattle TABLE XI Annual i n p u t / o u t p u t for fodder production on 50 ha Item

Inputs ---T~d

Soil work and sowing Farm yard manure (FYM) Output - - P ' J ' J d e r production

Amount

Cost (Rs.)

1000 kg @ 20 kg/ha

200 man days @ 4 man days 1400 ha and Rs. 7 per man day 250 t 12 500

1000 t @ 20 t/ha

Remarks

Initially free from the Forest Dept. ; own collection from the second year onward Preferably family or community labour From the village's own cattle population Will feed about 278 cattle all year round @ 10 kg per animal

227

pooled together will feed a c o m m u n i t y level gobar gas plant to produce about 30 m 3 of gas in excess of that required for cooking. This surplus can be used for lighting houses and to run cottage industries, or even for lift irrigation. In effect this technology could much improve the quality of life in the village. A COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY FORESTRY PACKAGE PROGRAMME FOR DEBRASAI

Before considering a thorough cost--benefit analysis of the c o m m u n i t y forestry (CF) package blueprinted for Debrasai, it is important to list its various components, c o m p a r t m e n t by compartment. From Fig. 2 we can summarize the present versus the future system as shown in Table XII. T A B L E XII

Present status versus f u t u r e strategy Compartment No:

Present status

Future strategy

1 2 3 4

1 8 2 . 9 0 h a o f n e t s o w n area 2 4 . 3 0 h a o f n o n - a g r i c u l t u r e use 25.64 ha of energy plantation 3 5 . 0 0 h a o f T a s a r c u l t u r e yielding 17 t / h a / y e a r o f foliage

5 6

1 8 2 . 9 0 h a o f n e t s o w n area 2 4 . 3 9 h a o f n o n - a g r i c u l t u r e use 20.71 h a o f d e g r a d e d f o r e s t 2 6 . 6 4 h a o f b a r r e n a n d cultivable waste 2 4 . 7 5 h a o f cultivable waste 4 3 . 2 9 h a o f long fallow

7

4 2 . 3 9 h a o f c u r r e n fallow

24.75 ha of groves and orchards 30.00 ha of pasture to yield 25 t/ha/ year of fodder 42.39 ha of agricultural development

Total

365.07 ha

365.07 ha

Assuming items 1 and 2 to remain the same, and estimating a 2.12% net growth for the Debrasai population, and assuming that Debrasai would continue to be a forest-dependent village for the next decade, and assuming soil, climate and rainfall conditions in Debrasai to remain the same during the period in question, the costs and benefits m a y be analysed. The CF Project and its consideration for financial profitability will include the following five sub-projects as parts of Project One: (a) 25.64 ha of energy plantation; (b) 9.00 ha of forestry on agricultural bunds; (c) 30 ha o f pasture on the long fallow land; (d) 24.75 ha of groves and orchards on cultivable waste; (e) 35.00 ha of tasar cultivation on barren and uncultivable waste land. Table XIII presents a comprehensive summary of costs, benefits and wage income flows during the first 7 years of the total CF project with all its five components. The gobar gas c o m p o n e n t is n o t considered here. The costs, benefits, and wage income flows for the 6th and 7th year are extrapolated

228 TABLE XIII A comprehensive view of 7-year Project costs and b e n e f i t s (in Rs.) Oper- Total a t l o n costs year

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

316,870 143,867 129,220 379,113 416,662 458,328 504,161 2,848,221

IRR Pay b a c k

Annual

Wage Income Excluded

Wage I n c o m e Included

wage

income

133,433 47,188 37,890 213,874 231,943 225,137 280,651 1,200,116

Benefits

Net benefits

223,433 (93,437) 146,188 2,321 204,671 75,451 830,559 451,446 1,064,695 648,033 1,171,165 712,837 1,288,281 784,120 4,928,992 2,580,771

Cost/ benefit

Benefits

Net benefits

1.42 0.98 0.63 0.46 0.89 0.39 0.39 0.48

90,000 (226,870) 99,000 44,867 166,781 37,561 616,685 237,572 832,752 416,090 916,028 457,700 1,007,630 503,469 3,728,876 1,380,655

128.9%

52.4%

3 . 5 years

4.5 years

Cost/ benefit

3.52 1.45 0.78 0.62 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.63

period

allowing for a 10% increase over those of the 5th year, since after the 5th year the project activities should be in a fixed pattern and therefore standardized. Around the tenth year, however, if n o t earlier, definite benefits would be expected from the orchards and groves. These are n o t considered here, as it is difficult to predict at this juncture the then fruit yield and its then price. The major costs of the project are the labour costs: a b o u t Rs. 1.2 million of wage income is generated during the first 7 years of the CF project. This constitutes a b o u t 51.1% of the total project costs. In general, forestation is labour intensive, and 51% is a conservative estimate. It is crucial that the project first absorbs local unskilled, u n e m p l o y e d or marginally employed labour whose shadow wage rate is negligible. Thus nearly 51% of the total project costs will accrue to Debrasai as wage income benefits. If these are counted as among the benefits, then the internal rate of return (IRR) of the entire 7-year project works o u t to be 128.9%. Given this assumption that wage income is part of the project benefits, then the pay back period (i.e., the period of time required to recover the investment costs of a project out of its benefit cash flows) works o u t to be 3.5 years. Thereafter every project year will provide more benefits than costs. If shadow wage rate of Debrasai unskilled rural unemployed labour is n o t zero, b u t is somewhere close to the going market wage rate (i.e., Debrasai people would far prefer to spend their time at leisure than be under-paid in wages), then wage income from the project cannot be strictly included among its benefits. Even so, as is clear from Table XIII, the I R R turns out to be 52.4%, the pay back period becomes 4.5 years and the average cost: benefit ratio increases from 0.48 to 0.63. Thus the project is still completely viable and very desirable. An appreciation or discounting rate of 10% has been allowed in these calculations. This is rather restrictive if the market or borrowing interest (or

229

inflation) rate were to become higher or lower than 10%. Fig. 3 is a more generalized version of the cost and benefit flows of the project, using interest or discounting rates ranging from 4 to 20%. Since the internal rates of return of the project under both assumptions are very high, the project planner could borrow m o n e y at rates up to 52.4% and still recover all investment costs within each pay back period. The lower the interest or discounting rates, the higher are the NPV(C) and NPV(B) under both assumptions but the lower are the NPV(C)/NPV(B) ratios. Thus, given developmental loans, on low interest the CF project could be easily implemented at Debrasai, as long as a system is set up to monitor the implementation and to ensure pay back of the loans. PROJECT BENEFIT SHARING SCHEMES

A model for equitable benefit sharing, suggested by Singh and Mascarenhas (1981), could also be applied to Debrasai. Cumulatively the entire 7year project generates net benefits (including wage income benefits) totalling

21

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230

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231 to Rs. 2,580,771, which discounted at 10% equals a net present value of Rs. 1,638,046. This implies on an average: Rs. 234,007 per project year; Rs. 2889 per household per year of the project; Rs. 648 per person per year of the project; Rs. 54 per capita per m o n t h of the project. Given the other sources of income, and given that the life of the project, with proper maintenance can be prolonged ad infinitum, Debrasai will once and for all be above the poverty-line (which currently is Rs. 69 per capita per month). To ensure that the income redistribution impact of the project is equitable we consider three schemes of redistributing project net benefits (Table XIV}. Scheme 1 distributes project net benefits on a household percentage basis, while Scheme 2 distributes it on a per capita basis within each farmer category. Scheme 3 is land compensatory. In this scheme it is assumed that all the 81 Debrasai households are basically entitled to an equitable land share (2.3044 ha per household} in the village. Each household n o t owning land up to 2.3 ha will, therefore, be compensated for it from the net project benefits. Assuming each ha of land will generate at least Rs. 1200 of agricultural income per year, each landless household will thus receive an additional Rs. 2765 (2.3044 × 1200) per project year. The marginal and small households will each receive a compensatory additional net project benefit of Rs. 1745 and Rs. 980, respectively, per project year. Obviously the medium and large farmer households will each forefeit Rs. 460 and Rs. 3798, respectively to compensate for their land holdings exceeding the village average of 2.3 ha. This may be called a 'social tax' on the latter households. This additional land-compensatory income is then added to the net benefit share under Scheme 2 for computing the net benefits to be shared by each farmer category. With this social tax on the landed category, the per capita per month net project income decreases with the land holding, as is evident from the last column of Table XIV. Scheme 3 thus ensures some equitability in distribution of the income accruing from the project. If wage income is n o t included among net project benefits, especially since not all the Debrasai villagers would be free or willing to work for the CF project, and at times, during peak activity season, some unskilled labour from outside Debrasai m a y have to be hired, then the net benefit shares will change. Whereas in Schemes 1 and 2 only the values will be scaled down by a factor of 0.485, benefit-sharing Scheme 3 will become unique under the assumption that wage income is a cost and n o t a benefit to the project. Will all Debrasai people or households share in the project income, irrespective of their active participation in the CF project itself? This is a crucial question. To ensure the active and enthusiastic participation of all villagers in the planning, implementation, maintenance and monitoring of the project during its entire life time an equity stake, increasing with each year of the project will have to be built into the scheme from its inception. The efficiency versus equity conflict (United Nations, 1978} will have to be carefully examined in the light of the socio-economic problems associated

232 w i t h t r y i n g t o achieve an e q u i t a b l e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f r e s o u r c e s w h e n t h e o p p o r t u n i t y costs o f t h e suggested p a c k a g e s differ a m o n g m e m b e r s o f t h e c o m m u n i t y . T h e b e n e f i t sharing S c h e m e 3 o u t l i n e d here, c o m p e n s a t e s o n l y f o r l a n d - i n e q u i t y , while o t h e r i n e q u i t i e s r e m a i n u n t o u c h e d . H o w e v e r , b e i n g an agricultural village, this c o m p e n s a t o r y s c h e m e c o u l d be i m p l e m e n t e d at least o n an e x p e r i m e n t a l basis. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

T h e a u t h o r s are g r a t e f u l t o Mr. S.C. T u b i d a n d Ms. S. Mitra, X L R I f o r t h e i r h e l p in d a t a c o l l e c t i o n , a n d t o Dr. K.P. Singh, S e n i o r Soil Scientist, Birsa A g r i c u l t u r a l U n i v e r s i t y , R a n c h i , f o r soil analysis.

REFERENCES

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