Farmers growing eucalypts and poplars in agroforestry systems in the Indian states of Haryana and Punjab are set to make good money, says an article in the Economic Times.

With rising demand, the price of wood has doubled in four years, leaving some farmers with the dilemma of whether to sell now or wait and see if they will get even more in another year.

The boom in smallholder agroforestry began in 1996 after the Supreme Court banned green felling to save the fast-depleting forests in the North-eastern states, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. This shifted the wood market to Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

Previously trees purely marked the boundaries of fields or provided a wind break for crops, Now the landscape has changed and in districts such as Hoshiarpur (Punjab) and Yamunanagar (Haryana) 70-80% farmers are fully engaged in agroforestry. Punjab and Haryana now hold 30-40% of the plywood market and are home to an expanding base of wood-related businesses like paper-making and furniture.

Says one Haryana farmer, Bhupinder Singh Yadav, "I will sell trees on half the land and start intercropping (growing other crops along with main crops) wheat and maize for next two years alongside the main cash crop of poplar".

For farmers who have broken away from crops like wheat and paddy, agroforestry is set to pay off. The remuneration from agroforestry far exceeds that from traditional crops and does not require the inputs and labor needed for growing cereals.

Using cloned varieties of eucalyptus and poplar that grow almost 25% taller, farmers have the option of harvesting trees from the third year for construction poles, filler material in plywood and as pulp in paper-making.

Read the full story: How farmers in Haryana & Punjab are earning Rs 8-10 lakh per acre in agroforestry