Smallholder Teak Production Systems in Gunungkidul, Indonesia

In East and Central Java, Indonesia smallholder farmers have developed tree production systems as the best use of marginal agricultural uplands. The systems are frequently intercropped, but dominated by trees with teak as the major species component. Farmers usually grow teak from seedlings of natural regeneration origin, without any attempt at selection for growth rate, wood quality or forms. Farmer surveys and an inventory of tree gardens were conducted in Gunungkidul District, Yogyakarta, on Java Island to establish the importance of teak to farm families and to identify the silviculture practices currently used by farmers. Results indicate that few farmers practice any form of silvicultural management and smallholder teak production systems in Gunungkidul yield timber of limited quantity and quality. Smallholder management practices, together with limited market knowledge and restrictive timber regulation policy, impede the profitability of smallholder teak systems. Adopting improved silvicultural practices is a step towards improving returns from smallholder teak systems. Those practices should be integrated into the existing smallholder teak systems. A related challenge is to build smallholders' market linkages and improve their financing options. Work on those two topics is ongoing.