Impact of multipurpose trees on small-farm systems of Nepal: a case study of Karmaiya village

An assessment of the effects of the Farm Forestry Research and Development Project (FPP, jointly funded by Tribhuvan University, Nepal and the IDRC) on the farming systems of Karmaiya, a village in the central Terai of Nepal at 200 m alt. Seedlings of multipurpose trees were supplied to the villagers in 1983 and planted as border, block, streamside, roadside and mixed plantations every year from 1983. The area had been previously cleared of forest for agriculture. Major crops were maize, rice, millet, wheat and mustard, with major livestock buffalo, cows and goats. A 20% sample of households (34) was surveyed in 1987 with questionnaires about on-farm plantations and the impact of such plantations on small-farm systems. Generally, on an average land holding of 1.08 ha, small farmers planted and maintained an average of 60 trees, of which Dalbergia sissoo and Leucaena leucocephala constituted an average of 58.3 and 26.7% of the total, respectively. Other species planted were Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Acacia catechu, Cassia siamea, Garuga pinnata, and Bauhinia and Albizia species. Ninety-one percent of sample households reported no need to change their cropping system to accomodate trees on their farms; 79% said that tree plantings allowed them better control of overgrazing and reduced dependency on forests. Farmers also noted better control of streams (82%) with no change in requirements for irrigation water (100%). Opinion was divided on the impact of on-farm trees on farm yields, with 53% saying that trees contributed to a reduction. Nevertheless, most farmers (79%) reported that tree planting helped improve the general quality of life and perceived greater benefit than harm from on-farm multipurpose trees.