“Indian forests are not only less in area, but also in productivity. Its productivity is one of the lowest per hectare per annum against the global average,” K. Ramasamy, Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), said here recently.
Under such circumstances, the wood-based value chain developed by the Forest College and Research Institute of TNAU had worked wonders for farmers, wood industries, allied industries like plantation developers, and Tamil Nadu State Forest Department, besides increasing the tree cover of the State, he said.
The Vice-Chancellor was speaking at a national workshop on industrial agro-forestry based on the ICAR-National Agricultural Innovative Project “A Value Chain on Industrial Agro-forestry in Tamil Nadu” being implemented by the Forest College and Research Institute since 2008.
P. Durairasu, Dean of the Forest College, addressed the stakeholders of the project and spoke about the significance of the workshop.
The project had successfully brought all the stakeholders such as scientists, wood-based industries, farmers and financial institutions on a single platform to improve the benefit of all concerned.
P. Jagadish, Chief Conservator of Forests, Central Zone, Salem, appreciated the implementing body, said that it had showed the way to the rest of the country by creating a sustainable ‘green model’ which took care of the need of farmers, industries and environment.
