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Integrating Mountain Hazelnut with Community Forest: Zhasela Community Forest


RNR-EC, Minjay - Such significant move by the Community Forest user group will help bring in more money if everything works out as planned. To diversify the income generating avenues of the CF from that of limited to timber products to other varieties, the CFMG members of Zhasela Community Forest in Minjay under Lhuentse Dzongkhag is proposing integrating hazelnut plantation with Community Forest.
With plantation of atleast 2500 numbers of Mountain hazelnut seedlings plantation slashed for this impending summer months, they expect to harvest the fruits by summer in three years. This is a sincere attempt to move away from conventional ‘all eggs in one basket’ syndrome and better prepare for unpredictable natural epidemics. This is because, the mountain hazelnut plants being the exotic species will have completely different tolerance and resistance to pests and diseases.
With an initial plantation to be carried out in 5 acres blank CF areas, it will help bring more CF area under forest cover, which in its small way will help towards maintaining 60% forest coverage as enshrined in the Constitution of Kingdom of Bhutan. This is justified by the fact that the Mountain Hazelnut Company Pvt. Ltd – an American Company based at Hongkong will sign a bond with the beneficiaries which states that the beneficiaries will ensure maximum survival rate of the planted seedlings.
After about three years, when the trees will finally bear fruits, the marketing will be taken care of by the said company with minimum prize pegged at Nu. 14/kg of dried fruits. “The seedlings for the plantation will be provided free although calculated cost averages to Nu. 200/- seedlings’ said Pema Norbu from the Mountain Hazelnut field office in Lingmithang. He added, “the seedlings will be delivered without having to bear any transportation cost till the nearest motorable road-head. All we want is a sincere commitment from the farmers” Mr. Ugyen Wangdi, Agriculture Extension of Minjay also said that this is how Forestry and Agriculture in gewog can integrate and work in close collaboration.
However, the beneficiaries shall ensure that all care is rendered to ensure that mortality is not resulted due to carelessness. Those mortality of seedlings caused by natural phenomenon will be replaced free of costs. On the contrary, if it happens having not cared well, the beneficiaries will replace after bearing Nu. 50/seedling. The baseline is, all accounted plants mature up to bear the fruits.
Other than, Zhasela CFMG, the Jalang CFMG, another CF user group under Minjay gewog and other individuals came forth expressing their interest to involve in Hazelnut plantations either in their private dry land or Government Reserved Forest. The aim of the Hazelnut Company is to bring minimum of 25,000 acres land under hazelnut plantation.
Nonetheless, the Zhasela CFMG appeared to have an edge over other proposers, since when other expressed the need for the barbed wire to fence the plantation area, the Zhasela CFMG remained relaxed. This is because, they’ve enough fund in their CF account to finance such need. Hence, no need was felt to explore for alternative fund source.
Limitations of venturing into hazelnut plantations include entering into agreement with the Company pledging to market all products with them which will restrict the bargaining power as revealed by Sonam Norbu, the Chairman of Zhasela CF. But pros far outweigh the cons when returns can be substantial comparative to investments. Such activity definitely is also in perfect sync with the 10th plan thrust of reducing poverty.
Such proposal for Hazelnut plantation was emanated during the one-day awareness on Hazelnut plantation by the Mountain Hazelnut Company, initiated by the its field Office in Lingmithang. The awareness was conducted at RNR-EC, Minjay on January 12, 2011.

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