Leading companies like Greenply Industries Ltd and Century Plyboards (I) Ltd are widening their reach and making efforts for the sustainable availability of raw material. They are doing extensive research, working on tree development, doing innovation for the new techniques for plantation so that better yield can be obtained with quality timber in short rotation of plantation trees.
The Greenply Industries Limited has been instrumental for sustainable development of wood panel industry by making sustainable availability of raw material and its procurement since long time. Following the same for timber Greenply has started its plantation activities long back. So far around 2.5 millions of seedlings have been developed and distributed to local farmers in different regions in the country, which has covered around 5000 acres of marginal and degraded lands under plantation.
Century Ply Boards has also carried put plantation drive and has spend worth Rs 2 crore approx as a budgetary expenditure by their Hoshiarpur MDF plant in association with several nurseries distributing over 52.23 lakh saplings in last three consecutive financial years from FY 17 to FY 20 to over 6750 farmers. In the previous financial year i.e FY 19-20, the company has distributed 22.83 lakh tree saplings to 3,057 farmers spending 66% (Rs 91 lakh) of the cost for the saplings which is almost equal to the previous two years spending on plantation by the company.
Dr KT Parthiban , Dean (Forestry), Forest Collage and Research Institute, Tamilnadu said that they are promoting Melia Dubia and many other species across Tamilnadu and entire South India as an alternative, for which the quality grade rotation has been fixed, varieties have been identified and the technical specification/sizes have been standardized. This all has been tested in association of Century Plyboards and select varieties have been given to farmers for plantation through a contract farming approach exclusively for plywood industry for both Core and Face Veneer.
For the development of this sector they took holistic approach to improve the quality of timber and its availability on sustainable manner by motivate the plant growers to opt for plantation for their better living. The companies make available quality seedlings to them along with organising training for plantation and appreciate them for better produce. The companies believe that sustainability is no more an option but imperative for the development and growth of wood panel industry
Greenply Plantation Project plays an important role to promote Massive Plantations on marginal and degraded lands through development and distribution of best quality seedlings of fast growing short rotation tree species with the aim to achieve raw material self-sufficiency and its sustained availability in future. They also provide technical know-how to tree growers from planting to post harvest stage by Audio, Video and Publication of literatures and establish demonstration plots and interaction with local inhabitants by periodical meetings for their encouragement, promotion environmental awareness.
They make efforts to improved forestry techniques to achieve higher productivity per unit area in collaboration with best regional forestry research organization and improve the socio-economic status of the tree growers along with creating an eco-friendly environment, conserve natural resources, reduce pressure on natural forests and mitigate global warming impact. They help in achieving targets of green India Mission by improving green cover by opting for Clonal propagation of tree species, by selecting elite parental trees with desirable characters like, fast and uniform growth, high yielding, disease and pest resistant varieties
The initiative taken by the company introduced low cost and effective planting techniques. By way of demonstration and deployment of best genetic seedlings of fast growing short rotation, locally adopted tree species like Khokan, Bogipoma, Melia dubia, Eucalyptus etc, they ensure maximum returns for plant growers. The absorption of suitable agro silvicultural practices to adopt suitable intercrops along with plantations helped the plant growers to generate additional revenue and maximize per unit return.
Rajesh Mittal, Chairman and MD, Greenply Industries Ltd says, “If you do not grow, you are declining; hence sustainability is no more an option but an imperative, in Greenply. Wood from agro forestry plantation is a renewable resource, and plays a vital role in various natural cycle, including the water, carbon and nitrogen cycles. As a society we have the opportunity and incentive to preferentially use renewable material that can be carefully managed to produce a perpetual supply. We also have a moral obligation to help preserve natural resources for future generations.”
Greenply is the pioneer industry amongst the Indian interior infrastructure companies to take various self-sustainable eco friendly green initiatives to combat the problem through development of Raw Material by promotion of replenishable large scale plantations of fast growing short rotation plywood species on marginal and degraded farm lands, essential for the survival of industry, its programmatic growth, and future expansions.