The fruit trees grow relatively fast as they are results of grafting."Manokwari (ANTARA News) - The Forestry Service of the regency of Manokwari, West Papua Barat said it is considering development of agro forestry in protected forest of Wosi-Rendani.
The protected forest has been damaged and agro-forestry is considered for rehabilitation, head of the district forestry service Erens Ngabalin said here on Friday.
"The condition of the forest is getting critical from year to year and the forest could be rehabilitated through agro-forestry to have its original function," Erens Ngabalin said.
He said the forest land could be planted with forest trees and fruit crop as well as vegetables.
The system could give greater economic value of the land for local people, he said, adding the farmers could earn from the faster growing vegetables while waiting for the fruit trees to bear fruits and the forest trees to grow.
The forestry service planned to convert the forest land into a fruit plantation center, which would also serve as a tourist object.
He said he wanted Manokwari to have a special area for fruit centers as a tourist object.
"The community of this area are active people and we would not prevent them from growing the forest land with food crop," he said.
He said the forestry service already have available seeds of grafted fruit trees.
"The fruit trees grow relatively fast as they are results of grafting," he said, adding they would start bearing fruit in four to five years.
The farmers, therefore, could harvest the fruits in a relatively short period, especially the land in that area is fertile, he added.
He said a tree could have fruits valued Rp4 million up to Rp7 million in a season depending on the types of the crop.
"If a farm family has 100 trees the farmers could earn more than Rp100 million in a harvest," he said.
(Uu.H-ASG/O001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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