While the paper industry in India now sources more wood from farmers than from forests, it is still demanding access to forest resources, reports Down to Earth website.

The article tells the story of Kari Papa Rao who has been growing eucalyptus trees since 2001. Rao is one of 80,000 farmers in the country growing pulpwood for paper company, ITC.

“Sourcing wood from farm forestry is a win-win situation for both wood-starved mills and farmers who want a steady source of income,” says K SrinivasaRao, ITC’s field manager in Bhadrachalam.

The industry has invested a great deal to make farm forestry work. ITC alone has conducted research on high-yielding, drought-tolerant and disease-resistant eucalyptus varieties and casuarina varieties suitable for different soils. They have also set up nurseries and conducted programs to promote social forestry.

Prior to the 1980s, the wood-based paper industry sourced most of its raw material from forests and was responsible for large-scale forest loss. The National Forest Policy introduced in 1988 restricted commercial plantations in forests and forced industries to source wood from farmers instead.

However in 2013 the paper industry faced a shortage and had to import wood, leading many to argue that demand cannot be met by farm forestry alone, and prompting a call from the paper industry to access degraded forests and government wastelands.

India’s new Agroforestry Policy is a “step in the right direction,” according to the article. The policy aims to remove restrictive legal provisions for harvesting and transporting trees planted on farmland and provide quality planting material, infrastructure and support price mechanisms; measures that will provide incentives to farmers to adopt agroforestry.

“We cannot keep asking for natural forests. Agroforestry is the only hope for wood and food security in the country,” says ChetanAgarwal, a Gurgaon-based forestry consultant.

Read the full story: Forest to farms