Promoting the advantages of large timber plantation

(Baonghean) - Effectively promoting the advantages of forests and forest land to develop forestry economy into a sustainable profession for people in many localities in Nghe An. Besides promoting the linkage to develop raw material areas with processing enterprises, expanding the forest area for large timber business brings high economic value.

Increase the area of ​​large timber forests

The Provincial People's Committee has just issued a decision approving the Project on Restructuring the Nghe An Forestry Sector by 2020, which includes the goal of achieving forest coverage of 57% and increasing the industry's production value by 4 - 4.5%/year. The project also aims to protect and develop existing forest areas, gradually meeting the demand for wood and forest products for consumption and export; converting existing planted forests into large timber production and business forests of 15,000 hectares, planting new forests of large timber trees on non-forested land of 8,000 hectares and replanting large timber trees on exploited land of 30,000 hectares.

The large timber trees that are focused on in the area include: Acacia auriculiformis, eucalyptus, lat hoa, lim xanh, sao den, mat tram, pine, of which Acacia is the main tree with an area of ​​90%. The project also considers pine trees as the strength of the province and maintains the development of 21,000 hectares of pine trees planted in protective and production forest areas to combine economic development and environmental protection.

Acacia harvesting in Tan Long commune (Tan Ky).

Mr. Nguyen Canh Can - Head of Nghe An Forestry Planning Investigation Team said: In order to develop large timber in the long term, the Provincial Forestry Planning Investigation Team has just completed the "Planning of large timber production and business areas in Nghe An province until 2025". Accordingly, the planning will be implemented in 18 districts, planting 148,000 hectares of large timber, of which the area converted from small timber forests is 19,000 hectares, newly planted forests are 72,000 hectares, and replanting is 57,000 hectares. Currently, there is basically consensus among forest owners, People's Committees of districts and communes, the team has submitted to the Provincial People's Committee for consideration and approval.

Currently in the province, some units are planting large timber forests quite effectively, such as Song Hieu Forestry One Member Co., Ltd. Mr. Ho Dinh The - Director of the company said: From 2004 - 2005, the company planned and planted 2,700 hectares of large timber, up to now 1,000 hectares have been exploited, the remaining 1,700 hectares are continuing to be exploited. Planting large timber forests reaches 140 - 160 m3/ha with a cycle of 10 - 11 years, revenue from 180,000 - 200,000 million VND/ha. Especially large timber forests used for multiple purposes, from laminated timber to chipping, not only bring high economic benefits, but also help reduce erosion, soil leaching... contributing to environmental protection and combating climate change.

To effectively plant large timber forests, the company proactively sources hybrid acacia seeds to ensure quality, and the planted trees are treated for pathogens, insects, and cared for properly. In developing large timber forests, it is also necessary to comply with the forest planting process according to the seasonal schedule, prioritizing spring and spring-summer planting so that the trees grow faster. The unit also invested tens of billions of dong in maintenance and built over 250 km of raw material roads to facilitate the planting, care, and exploitation processes. To proactively sell products, the company cooperates with processing enterprises, creating stability in the forest plantation business cycle.

Tuong Duong district is one of the localities that also focuses on planting large timber trees. Up to this point, the whole district has about 7,200 hectares of raw material forest, of which mixed mahogany and lat trees account for 80%. The effectiveness of mahogany planting has been confirmed, it is easy to plant and easy to consume. In addition to the State's investment policy mechanisms on forest planting such as project 147, program 30a..., every year Tuong Duong district supports people from 2.5 to 2.7 billion VND for forest planting (supporting 100% of tree varieties).

In 2016, Tuong Duong planted over 1,000 hectares of forest, of which 800 hectares were acacia and the rest were xoan dau, of which 450 hectares were planted with large timber to serve the MDF wood and fiberboard processing factory in Nghia Dan district. Mr. Lo Kham Kha - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tuong Duong district said: If planting large timber acacia, after 8-10 years, the income will still be as high as the price of xoan, in the future it will be more favorable when the factory has a contract, consuming products for forest growers...

In 2017, the Provincial People's Committee assigned the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to temporarily assign the forest planting plan to localities and project units to plant 17,000 hectares of raw material forests (an increase of 1,000 hectares compared to 2016). This year, in particular, the province plans to plant large timber forests of over 4,000 hectares, concentrated in Thanh Chuong, Quy Hop, Nghia Dan districts...

To effectively plant large timber forests, the province supports 50% of the price of acacia auriculiformis, acacia mangium, and black star saplings (nursed by seeds or tissue culture) that meet standards for farming households planting forests on assigned forestry land, or for lease in large timber forest production and business planning areas approved by competent authorities. The province also has a mechanism to support 50% of the price of native tree seedlings (green lim, lat hoa, tram) for households planting forests on assigned forestry land, or for lease in large timber forest production and business planning areas approved by competent authorities.

Proactively "take short-term to sustain long-term"

Forest development is focused on by people in many localities. However, most households mainly plant and harvest young acacia. If only planted for about 4-6 years of harvest, each hectare of acacia can only be sold for over 40 million VND, which is not profitable. Meanwhile, planting large timber trees can bring in an income of over 200 million VND. The problem is that planting large timber forests will double the rotation of planting and harvesting, so people face difficulties in "taking short-term to support long-term".

According to general assessment, the quality of planted forests is not high at present, the economic efficiency from exploiting planted forests is still low. Acacia growers are operating in short cycles to serve paper and woodchip raw materials, the harvested products are not competitive, the economic value is low, not commensurate with the potential. Therefore, developing large timber forests is a sustainable direction. To do this, it requires joint ventures and close association of enterprises in supporting forest growers to "nurture forests" and commit to stable product consumption, increasing the value of raw material forests.

Selling seedlings in Yen Thanh. Photo: Thai Duong

Through the discussion, Mr. Dang Xuan Minh - Deputy Head of the Forest Protection Department added: To develop large timber forest business in the province in the current conditions, it is necessary to focus on planning and implementing synchronous solutions on land, science and technology, forestry and production organization management to promulgate policies to support the development of large timber forest business. However, planting large timber forests is still difficult. Because the care and protection time is long, at least double that of planting small timber forests, leading to a long exploitation and recovery process of investment capital, while the conditions of the people are still very difficult.

Van Truong