The plywood industries in Haryana are opting for imported wood due to inadequate domestic supply, said the Haryana Assembly deputy speaker Choudhary Akram Khan.
He said this after inaugurating a day long workshop cum Kisan Mela organised by Forest Research Institute, Dehradun on the weekend in Yamunanagar, Haryana to bring farmers, Haryana Forest Department and representatives of plywood industries of Haryana on a common platform to enable them to share their problems and make some strategies for their solution.
Inaugurating the event, Khan said that plywood industrialists of Haryana are pioneers in north India. These industries are not getting enough wood for their needs and are opting for imported wood for this purpose. If domestic farmers grow adequate quantum of agroforestry species then the demand of wood can be met by sustainable supply. This can be achieved by improved agroforestry on farmers land. He stated that the workshop was a good opportunity for farmers to get technical know how on agroforestry.
FRI director PP Bhojvaid said that Haryana and Punjab are pioneers in agroforestry but unmanaged farming and over exploitation of natural resources has created many problems like decreasing water level and decreasing production. He said that excess application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is affecting the health of humans and livestock.
In this situation, the agroforestry is needed more so that the environment may be kept clean and a sustainable supply of wood be facilitated to plywood industries. Forest cover in Haryana is very less and it may be compensated by adopting agroforestry in the state, said Bhojvaid. The principal chief conservator of forests, Haryana and others also expressed their views on the occasion.