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Availability of quality seed is
key to plantation forests development and tree planting by farmers.
In recognition of the need to increase the forest cover, the
government in its Sessional Paper No.9 (2005) on Forest Policy, has
developed enabling guidelines for intensified tree planting inside
and outside gazetted forests. The policy paper further emphasizes
the need for availability of planting material to support the
afforestation/reforestation programme. Tree seed is the most
effective planting material available for this programme.
KEFRI is mandated to produce tree seed for all types of planting
programmes. The Institute has increased its annual seed production
from 3,000 kg to 6,000 kg. However, due to the sharp increase in
demand for seed and considering the fact that seed sources, which
were in plantations have been lost through excisions, the Institute
has not been able to meet the growing demand for tree seed. The
Institute has started an initiative to decentralise seed
distribution to make it easily accessible to farmers.
The proposed intervention aims at expanding seed sources, improving
management and protection, intensifying seed collection especially
of indigenous species, improving quality and distribution. Efforts
will also be made to fund raise to expand tree seed for conservation
purposes.
The current Seeds and Plant Varieties Act and the Forests Act do not
adequately and specifically address tree seed to facilitate
accelerated forest development. The Institute will provide
leadership in formulation of Tree Seed Policy and Regulation.
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