KAMPALA – In the past two years, I have been hearing about the Chinese companies tapping liquid from the Pine trees, I personally picked a kin interest to understand the business model and the preliminary information proved that pine tree farmers are harvesting more money than before. Traditionally, pine growing has been known for timber and other wood related products, and the pine tree growing is dependent on many factors. This includes planting the right species at the right time in the favourable geographical location but good enough. Pine trees do not require a lot of water to grow compared to eucalyptus. Being a pine tree farmer from Sheema District and already onboarded onto the global carbon credit program by TIST, invested to understand the RESIN tapping of which many farmers call it tapping the white gold. Since I already knew how carbon credit pays, I paid a visit to a pine tree farmer from Ntungamo District, and the farmer has over 20,000 pine trees located within the municipality (Names withheld). The farm manager took me through the pine forest and trees were mature of around 14-15 years old and we shared the process on how Chinese companies tap resin from each tree and how a farmer is paid around UGX 4,000 to 5,000 per tree per year for a contract of three years or more. For carbon credit, the income is not very clear as there is monopoly in the sector and the tools used to measure carbon load and payments are not known to farmers but at least you can earn enough income based on the acreage and the age of the trees. Trees load more carbon based on tree species, size, and age. Safe guards in resin taping have been made as trees are insured against any danger arising out of the resin tapping process. Many Ugandans have been fearing to invest in pine growing for a number of reasons. The trees take a relatively long period to mature, and it’s about 15-20 years before harvest. The trees do not regenerate after cutting, and the single harvest method combined with a long payback period have been discouraging people into pine tree farming as they look for alternative short-term investments. The growing of pine trees is capital intensive and huge capital requirement limits many people who have little ready cash flows and finally, the time value for money and the net present value have to be factored into the investment cycle. Pine tree farming investment practically requires long-term and patient funds. People interested in investing in pine tree farming may require
credit inform of bank loans, which are sometimes expensive and short-term in nature.
The banks have not appreciated the sector, and thus, they have not developed loan products and services to support the farmers.
Under proper management, pine forests can provide multiple economic benefits, increasingly however, many are learning of resin tapping from pine trees as an income- generating activity. Although resin tapping is considered to be a new economic undertaking among tree growers in Uganda, humans have gathered and used resins from plants for thousands of years. In recent years, the world has witnessed a renewed interest in natural resins, fueled mainly by an increasing demand from China, which has pushed prices up to about USD 750/tonne. Initially, Ugandan tree farmers have been reluctant to participate in resin tapping due to fears of possible adverse effects of tapping on trees. However, many people now seem to agree that resin tapping can provide additional income to their enterprises. Furthermore, resin tapping provides other benefits to growers, including employment creation for rural communities for example at my pine tree farm located in Sheema District, it employs around 13-15 women from the surrounding community on full time and to be sustainable these women have transformed into a Carbon Credit VSLA and they have been allocated space in the pine estate to invest into Apiary, this is because these women do not have enough space to safely keep the bee hives. Also, there are improved fire management practices by understory vegetation slashing to reduce fuel load and increase fire surveillance during the dry season when fire risk is high and saving the planet due to global warming. Resin yield varies with site; from two to four kilogrammes per tree, per year, with an average yield of three kilogrammes per tree, per year, or about two tonnes per hectare, per year. Variation can be caused by length of harvesting season, tree size, and number of resin extraction faces worked on per tree at a time. Resin yield per hectare depends on stocking per hectare, age, tree diameter, accessibility of the compartment, and steepness of terrain. Access cleaning is recommended in compartments that are to be tapped for resin. It is more difficult to work on steep terrain, carrying loads of resin during harvesting, than on flat terrain.
For the first time in the history of commercial forestry in Uganda, pine forest farmers are being subjected to intensive resin tapping for commercial purposes. This comes as a relief to pine tree farmers, and due to steady cash flows, farmers can access long-term credit and invest more. Concerns besides financial returns, it’s worth noting that the sustainability of the resin tapping business in Uganda will largely depend on the positive attitude of forest owners towards the undertaking. Any significant adverse effects on tapped trees (whether real or perceived) are likely to discourage other farmers from participating. Carefully thought-out interventions, including training resin collectors and research, will minimize the risk of adversely effecting trees during resin tapping and build exploitation. So far, no adverse effects have been reported as a result of resin tapping, Since the yield of resin is dependent on number of trees in a hectare, there is risk of farmers under-thinning or not thinning compartments at all for fear of obstructing the resin tapping exercise which will in turn adversely affect the volume and quality of the sawlogs obtained at final harvest.
From the foregoing, pine resin is important in the production of a variety of products such as solvents, cleaning agents for varnishes and paints, flavor and fragrances in the pharmaceutical and food industry, perfumes, synthetic rubber, disinfectants, coatings, printing ink resins, and waterproofing materials. The combined economic benefits of resin collection and timber production in the same forest compartment can not be doubted. Resin tapping provides annual revenues of a stand from 10 years until clear- felling, increasing its internal rate of return that otherwise would not be possible with timber production alone. Resin tapping and carbon credit also minimizes the risks of fire outbreak, as it reduces fuel load and increases fire detection and appropriate safe guards are put in place to minimize possible adverse effects on trees as a result. Resin tapping and carbon credit are becoming key factors in climate finance and hence protecting the environment as farmers get alternative sources of income, they ate motivated to wait for the trees to stay longer before harvest, also farmers can use the earned income for expansion as they plant more trees and others may consider not to harvest the trees at maturity and may pass on the tree estate to another generation. “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it and”What humans do over the next 50 years will determine the fate of all life on the planet.” Sir David Attenborough. Finally, as a relatively new undertaking in Uganda, the resin tapping business is unregulated. It is therefore imperative to develop resin tapping procedures, guidelines, standards and regulations to safe-guard trees from excessive damage, ensuring product quality and protecting growers from effects of resin tapping, tree growers in Uganda should be encouraged to participate in resin tapping.
I strongly call up on young people, Private institutions, Cooperatives, Farmers, Women led associations, Local government bodies, Churches, Schools, Armed forces and NGOs to consider investing into tree planting for earning and saving the environment. Saving the planet through combatting global warming adverse effects is a collective responsibility for the current generation. I finally recommend that all stakeholders must invest in developing environmental and Social Governance Frameworks for the benefit of our society and the next generation.
Denis Tukahikaho is an expert in environmental and Social Governance Frameworks, climate finance, cooperatives, due diligence, and business support.
