Small-scale furniture producers have managed to increase their value added or income thanks to better understanding of the market, training provided under the Furniture Value Chain (FVC) project, participation in trade exhibitions and use of online marketing to reach a wider market. The Jepara Small-scale Furniture Producers Association (APKJ) was legally established and has been functioning well. APKJ has emerged as an effective forum for improving its members’ capacity to manufacture better-quality furniture, to deal with management issues and to reduce the time to delivery. A comprehensive strategy for the development of the furniture industry (the ‘Roadmap’) was created for the period 2013-2023 and a Jepara District Regulation has been drafted. One group of small-scale furniture manufacturers and one individual applied for certification under Indonesia’s national Timber Legality Assurance System (TLAS or SVLK (Sistem Verifikasi Legalitas Kayu)) and have been through the verification process. The potential for entering the emerging domestic ‘green furniture’ market is being explored. Furniture producers have become more efficient in their use of wood and of value chains. Findings from the project have been published and disseminated in multiple forms, including articles in scientific journals, books, conference papers, newsletters, a project website, media articles and local radio broadcasts. The capacity of a broad range of Indonesian partners in conducting value chain analysis through action research has been developed.
Tag: markets
Impediments, opportunities and strategies to enhance trade of wild and semi-wild food plants in Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom, Uganda
Can community-based organisations deliver adequate agricultural information to farmers? Evidence from rural resources centres in Cameroon
Rural Resources Centres (RRCs) managed by community-based organisations, where farmers come together for training and demonstration, have been an innovative extension approach in Cameroon since 2006. This paper describes information flow in RRCs and farmers’ assessment of RRCs as information sources. All the RRCs in Cameroon were studied and 29 group interviews, involving 118 producers and 7 individual interviews with RRC managers, were performed. RRCs share information with several stakeholders including farmers, research institutions, and educational and religious institutions; and interpersonal channels are commonly used. Farmers and agricultural extension workers are the most important sources of information for RRCs. Farmers rank RRCs as their second best sources of information after fellow farmers. On average, each year, RRCs organise at least 40 training sessions for about 1777 participants. The themes are mainly agroforestry (29%), marketing (20%), group dynamics (20%) and post-harvest techniques (11%). The issue of funding the activities of the RRCs needs to be addressed, they need to be better structured, and their human resources increased and strengthened.
An evaluation of the feasibility and benefits of forest partnerships to develop tree plantations: case studies in the Philippines
Carbon pricing: Approaches, lessons and recommendations for blue carbon in Vietnam
Vietnam possesses significant potential for blue carbon development, offering opportunities for climate mitigation, biodiversity conservation and sustainable economic growth. This report examines the critical role of carbon pricing mechanisms in unlocking this potential, focusing on both compliance and voluntary carbon markets.
Is certification associated with better forest management and socioeconomic benefits?: a comparative analysis of three certification schemes applied to Brazil nuts in Western Amazonia
Nontimber forest product (NTFP) certification has potential to promote sustainable harvest and to bolster rural livelihoods. This research compares environmental and socioeconomic benefits of Brazil nut certification for 231 producers in 17 communities in the trinational border region of Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru during the 2006-2007 harvest. Specific objectives were: (1) to analyze differences in “best management practices” between certified and noncertified producers; (2) to identify socioeconomic benefits associated with certified nuts; and (3) to explore producer perceptions of nut certification. Organic and Fairtrade certification were associated with better postharvest practices and higher prices, while Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification was related to preharvest planning. Certification was viewed most positively in Bolivia, where producers gleaned financial and social benefits, moderately in Peru, and least positively in Brazil, where benefits were lower or nonexistent. Partnerships with cooperatives, donors, government, and nongovernmental organizations were essential to maximize conservation and development objectives.
Growth and timber quality of Tectona grandis in high input plantations of Costa Rica
Linking forest management to timber industry requirements is fundamental. Connections of silvicultural activities with wood quality are often limited to size-related characteristics, such as minimum DBH. Restrictions set by international markets (e.g. minimum log dimensions, heartwood content and wood defects) limit seriously the marketing options of several forest companies in Costa Rica and many other countries in the area. Therefore, efficient management practices are urgently needed to lead not only to a maximization of per-hectare volume but also to the production of desirable individual-tree dimensions and high quality commercial timber. This paper discusses following topics: aboveground biomass and the applicability on stand density management; wood quality of young and advance aged plantations; effects of stand density on wood quality, results from a thinning trial; effects of stand density on growth and yield, results from a thinning trial; preliminary pruning program, pruning intensity and timing; and total and merchandable volume equations.
Work Package 4:Value chain strengthening
Seeds of hope: a public-private partnership to domesticate a native tree, Allanblackia, is transforming lives in rural Africa
This booklet tells a remarkable story. At one level, it is about the domestication of an African tree whose seeds contain an oil with unique properties. At another, it is about a public-private partnership – the Novella Project – which could provide a model for the development of new crops. The Allanblackia tree has been used by villagers for centuries as a source of cooking oil, medicine and timber, but till recently it was of little interest beyond equatorial Africa. This is now set to change. In 2000, Unilever began using Allanblackia oil to make small quantities of soap in Ghana. A sample was sent back to Europe for analysis. The oil, it turned out, possessed properties which made it a ‘food technologist’s dream,’ ideally suited to the manufacture of white spreads like margarine. The demand for Allanblackia oil could exceed 200,000 tonnes a year, but there are nowhere near enough trees in the wild to satisfy demand. To address the problem, the Novella Project launched a major domestication programme. By 2009, around 10,000 smallholder farmers, most in Ghana in Tanzania, had planted 100,000 ‘superior’ Allanblackia trees. Tens of millions more will be planted over the coming decades
Agro-ecosystems, their population densities and land cover in Indonesia in the context of upland-lowland relationships
RUPES and similar programs relate to increasing interest in landscape level interactions between land users in uplands and lowlands. Basic data on the total area and the number of people involved in the various combinations of land use types are helpful in prioritizing action research.