TY - JOUR
T1 - Small-scale agroforestry for upland community development
T2 - A case study from Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh
AU - Nath, Tapan K.
AU - Inoue, Makoto
AU - Myant, Hla
N1 - Funding Information:
In the past, the government implemented a good number of resettlement programs in efforts to rehabilitate internally displaced people and the jhumias by developing permanent and sustainable farming systems in the region. The first resettlement program in the CHT was started in 1957 with an aim to rehabilitate the people affected by the construction of Kaptai Dam on the river Karnafully, which was built as part of a hydroelectric power scheme. This rehabilitation scheme resettled about 15 074 displaced families during the period 1957–1966 in the upward three northern valleys (ADB 1978, 1979). The second resettlement program was a supplementary rehabilitation scheme implemented during the period 1966–1975 to resettle 3799 more families (ADB 1978, 1979). The third scheme was the horticulture-based CHTs development program implemented during the period 1968–1979 to resettle 3799 families. The fourth was also based on horticulture, the Joutha Khamar (collective farming) program implemented by the district administration with funding from the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board (CHTDB), a regional development organization established in 1976, which resettled 1540 families during the period 1976–1983. Most of these programs failed to achieve their stated goals and expectations.
Copyright:
Copyright 2008 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2005/12
Y1 - 2005/12
N2 - The potentialities of agroforestry are generally investigated through their biophysiological phenomena, cost-benefit analysis, and possible impact upon poverty reduction. There have been inadequate studies on the actual impacts of agroforestry intervention on small landholders and of farmers' attitudes toward these agroforestry programs. Drawing upon the findings of an empirical study, this article explores the effects of small-scale agroforestry on upland community development in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh. More specifically, the study clarifies the merits and demerits of different agroforestry systems as perceived by farmers, their impacts on the rural economy and the environment, farmers' attitudes toward the adoption of agroforestry, and impacts of various government policies. Field data were collected by administering questions to 90 randomly selected smallholders of the Upland Settlement Project (USP), as well as from project staff. The research tools employed were semistructured interviews, group discussions, and uncontrolled observations. The results indicated that the agroforestry interventions have in fact increased farmers' income through employment and the selling of farm products, as well as by improving the ecological conditions of these areas through reduction of soil erosion, increasing tree coverage, and maintaining soil fertility. The adoption of different agroforestry systems was governed mainly by the farmers' interests in following these techniques, their ability to cultivate the land in the prescribed manner, and the market demand for their products. The major obstacles that prevented increased agroforestry improvements included lack of confidence in new land-use systems, inappropriate project design (e.g., top-down innovation approach), and policy issues regarding land tenure. Recommendations are proposed to strengthen social capital in local organizations to enhance the livelihoods of the upland communities.
AB - The potentialities of agroforestry are generally investigated through their biophysiological phenomena, cost-benefit analysis, and possible impact upon poverty reduction. There have been inadequate studies on the actual impacts of agroforestry intervention on small landholders and of farmers' attitudes toward these agroforestry programs. Drawing upon the findings of an empirical study, this article explores the effects of small-scale agroforestry on upland community development in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh. More specifically, the study clarifies the merits and demerits of different agroforestry systems as perceived by farmers, their impacts on the rural economy and the environment, farmers' attitudes toward the adoption of agroforestry, and impacts of various government policies. Field data were collected by administering questions to 90 randomly selected smallholders of the Upland Settlement Project (USP), as well as from project staff. The research tools employed were semistructured interviews, group discussions, and uncontrolled observations. The results indicated that the agroforestry interventions have in fact increased farmers' income through employment and the selling of farm products, as well as by improving the ecological conditions of these areas through reduction of soil erosion, increasing tree coverage, and maintaining soil fertility. The adoption of different agroforestry systems was governed mainly by the farmers' interests in following these techniques, their ability to cultivate the land in the prescribed manner, and the market demand for their products. The major obstacles that prevented increased agroforestry improvements included lack of confidence in new land-use systems, inappropriate project design (e.g., top-down innovation approach), and policy issues regarding land tenure. Recommendations are proposed to strengthen social capital in local organizations to enhance the livelihoods of the upland communities.
KW - Agroforestry
KW - Ethnic communities
KW - Shifting cultivation
KW - Social capital
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=29544438048&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1007/s10310-005-0171-x
DO - 10.1007/s10310-005-0171-x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:29544438048
SN - 1341-6979
VL - 10
SP - 443
EP - 452
JO - Journal of Forest Research
JF - Journal of Forest Research
IS - 6
ER -
