Plantation Finances

Abstract

It is all very well for conservationists and foresters to recognize the need to reforest degraded lands but this does not mean that the owners of such lands will necessarily feel inclined to do so. Some may while others will not. Much will depend on their circumstances and especially whether they believe they have secure tenure over the land they are using. But a key influence is also likely to be their perception of the profitability of reforestation. Are timber trees likely to be more profitable than alternatives such as annual crops or other tree crops? And can they afford the time delay before there is any financial return from their trees? Commercial tree-growing is a relatively new land use for many farmers and some might conclude that the risks and opportunity costs of tree growing are simply too high. On the other hand, there is widespread empirical evidence showing that some private landowners do find tree-growing is worth doing. There are probably several reasons for this: