Villagers in forest farming

 AFTER tough periods of not having access to timber resources, local forest farmers now have the opportunity to build houses from timber in the Markham Valley of Morobe.

John Riwasino, plantation forester by profession and a Masters student in Communication and Development at the PNG University of Technology, who undertook a socio-economic research project in the Marawasa village of upper Markham  last year, said the valley was known for its grassland habitat and unsuitable soil for food production.

He said it was challenging for the people to deal with limited timber resources due to population increase, with increased demand for such resources in the area.

In addition, they experience prolonged dry seasons and changes to climate.

“The people continue to live with these problems but few locals who have recognised such constraints over the years are able to help their people by venturing into such forest farming businesses,” Riwasino said.

A few forest farmers from Marawasa village said the introduction of tree-planting in the area through collaborating with the PNG Biomass project, brought changes to their livelihood since establishment of trial forest plots in 2009.

Suitable tree species such ascloned Eucalyptus pelita were grown in trial plots with a seven to eight-year rotation period.