Can the State Forest Department’s long-running forestry scheme help farmers supplement their income to tide over economic distress? The experience seems to be encouraging and for farmers with small to medium size land holdings, the Krushi Aranya Protsaha Yojane (KAPY) holds promise of a sizeable income spread over three years.
Introduced in 2011-12, the scheme has twin benefits — supplementing farmers’ income and shoring up green cover as it entails upon the farmer to protect the saplings for three years to receive the cash incentive. In Mysuru territorial division alone, more than 4 lakh seedlings have been distributed to farmers in the last three years and 1,110 beneficiaries have received ₹1.05 crore over three years.
K.C. Prashanthkumar, DCF, Mysuru territorial division, told The Hindu that this year, nearly 1 million saplings are ready for distribution and farmers have started placing orders as this is the ideal season to plant them.
There has been good pre-monsoon rain across the State and early summer showers which has increased moisture content in the soil and the freshly planted saplings will not require much water. With the southwest monsoon just a few weeks away, the time is ideal for planting.
As per the programme, the incentive is restricted to 400 seedlings per hectare, which means a farmer can earn ₹40,000 per hectare over three years in case the saplings are planted on the farm land. Even if a portion of the landholding is set aside for tree plantation, then there is scope to shore up income through protecting the seeds and saplings, said Mr. Prashanthkumar.
Once the saplings are planted, the Forest Department staff verify the status and release ₹30 per surviving seedling during the first two years and ₹40 in the third year.
The incentive is substantial when the farmers plant more seedlings. “Apart from incentive, the farmers derive additional revenue for the timber value of the mature trees after a few years,” said Mr. Prashanthkumar. Fruits, seeds, fodder, and firewood are additional benefits and hence more and more farmers with sizeable landholdings are making inquiries and procuring saplings from the forest department nurseries, he added.
Given the cash incentive, the survival rates are high and this helps increase the green cover of the region. The department has more than 30 species of saplings but hebbevu, teak, mahogany, sandal, and honge are in high demand.
In a bid to shore up the city’s green cover, the department will take up plantation of saplings across the city. The plan is to cover 70 km of road length with 300 saplings per km. This is in addition to planting saplings in vacant lands of government offices and educational institutions. The urban forest scheme will be expanded to include unmaintained parks and open spaces.
