Earning money from planting trees

The motor grader, fitted with logging equipment, moves slowly, methodically, lifting felled pine logs from one location and dropping them in another location. 

We are deep inside the slightly over 9,300-hectare Namwasa Forest in Mityana district. Quite a large compartment of the forest has been cut down. In another compartment, young pine trees are growing in the sun. 

The forest plantation is one of three owned by the New Forests Company (NFC), a sustainable, socially responsible forestry and timber products business with plantations in Uganda and Tanzania. 

The company was licensed by the National Forestry Authority (NFA) to manage and conserve the Luwunga and Namwasa central forest reserves by planting commercial forest plantations around them.

Asaph Asiimwe, the plantation manager, says the commercial trees species planted in the forest are eucalyptus hybrid and Caribbean pine (pinus caribaea).

“Forty percent of the forest consists of the conservation area (Nyamwasa central forest reserve), which has been left to regenerate naturally. The rest of the planted area is 65 per pine and 35 percent eucalyptus,” he says.

The field operations in the forest such as planting, thinning, and harvesting, are outsourced to two contractors, who between them have a labour force of 150. 

The trees are being harvested on order from the other branches of the business, which include a sawmill and a pole plant. 

Sawmill business
As one approaches the Namwasa Sawmill from Netulidde trading centre in Kalwana sub-county, Kassanda district, the most familiar sight is trucks ferrying saw logs. 

Most of these are dumped outside the compound of the sawmill, from where they are picked up by a motor grader and distributed to different sections of the mill.  

The sawmill is certified by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), the ISO 9001:2015 standard, and the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM 15) to run its operations. 

The ISPM 15 marks the products from the sawmill as treated and therefore can be shipped between countries. This prevents the international transport and spread of diseases and insects that could negatively affect plants or ecosystems. 

Matthew Mapfumo, the sawmill manager, says the logs are processed into structural material or pallet material, which has been dried mechanically. 

“We serve the local market with pallets, especially to soda and beer companies and businesses involved in packaging. We also export our pallets. For instance, in Kenya, we serve the beer, soda and water companies,” he says.

The kiln-dried structural materials – timber – are sold off locally to the construction industry and to individual buyers. The pallets are also sold individually. 

“All the wood comes from our own plantation. We also have offcuts or slabs that can be taken by the community living around us to build their goat pens and cooking areas. The sawdust from the milling processes is sold to Uganda Breweries Limited to fire their boilers,” Mapfumo adds. 

Besides Uganda and Kenya, the sawmill also has markets in the neighbouring countries of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Rwanda.

Pole Treatment Plant 
Located in Mityana district, the NFC’s pole plant, which was opened in January 2010, now supplies treated poles – certified by international standards – to countries in the East African region. 

“We get the eucalyptus and pine poles from our own plantations in Namwasa, Luwunga, and Kirinya. We also supplement with deliveries from out-growers, who we have, over the years, been giving technical support to grow trees. Anyone can sell to us as long as they fulfill the quality needs and size we want,” says Hannington Ssekajja, the manager of the pole plant. 

The pole plant purchases the poles at a price that is determined by the seasons and conditions of the market at any given time. 

“Currently, there is a low uptake for our poles in Uganda. The biggest percentage of them is shipped to Rwanda and Tanzania. The rationalisation of the Rural Electrification Agency of Uganda and Covid-19 affected our market. It appeared that the government could not fund electricity projects. But business is picking up,” Ssekajja says.

After the poles are harvested and arrive at the pole plant, they are graded based on the market needs and customer specification. They are then sorted in size ranging from nine to 14 metres, and stacked in different piles depending on their moisture content. 

The poles spend about four to six months drying in stacks in the open air to prevent warping. Log warping or deformation occurs when the moisture content in the wood changes unevenly, causing the wood to shrink or swell. This happens when the wood is allowed to dry too quickly or too slowly. 

Before the treatment process begins, the poles are first trimmed to ensure that they have flat tops and butts, which are then fixed with galvanized nails to prevent them from splitting. 

“When the logs are dry enough to accept chemicals in the treatment process, they undergo a final grading. They are then placed in a cylinder, which is flooded with chemicals to treat the wood. The cylinder is pressurised,” Ssekanjja explains.

The pressure treatment forces the chemical (liquid preservative) into the wood until the wood retains the required amount. When the chemical is withdrawn, a final vacuuming process is applied to dry out the excess moisture.

“At this point, we do two major tests to determine how deeply the chemical has penetrated into the wood, and how much of it has been retained. Afterwards, the poles are ready to be dispatched to customers,” Ssekajja says.

The chromated copper arsenate (CCA) that is used to treat the transmission poles preserves them from termites and gives them a lifespan of over 20 years.

Although at some point wooden electricity poles were being phased out in favour of concrete poles, Ssekajja says the plant has not been affected by this shift.

“Yes, a small percentage of the market has gone to concrete but our market is still large. We are not worried that a time will come when concrete poles take over wooden poles. Kenya and South Africa actually phased out wooden poles, but with time, they have both abandoned concrete poles,” he says.

Concrete poles are more expensive to manufacture than wooden poles and take much longer to make. Where a pole plant can manufacture 500 wooden poles in a day, another will only make 100 concrete poles in the same time.

Out growers earn big
As Jamiru Lubega walks though his 10-acre woodlot of eucalyptus trees, the anticipation of the money he will make in a few years time when he harvests the trees, is evident in the pride on his face. The woodlot is across the road from his newly built home in Kikandwa village, Kalwana sub-county, in Kassanda district. 

Last year, he harvested part of the woodlot, earning Shs37 million from the sale of eucalyptus poles to people in the construction industry. From the proceeds, he was able to fulfill every Muslim’s dream – going on the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia. 

This is one of the woodlots that Lubega, who is also the village and parish LC1 and LC2 chairperson, owns. Combined, his woodlots come up to 62 acres of eucalyptus trees. 

Lubega is one of a number of out growers for the NFC. As it took over the management of Namwasa and Luwunga central forest reserves, the nearby communities, which had encroached on the ecosystems, were forced out. To foster good relations, the company launched an out growers program to encourage members of the community to also grow trees for commercial purposes to boost their household income. 

The program was also intended to dissuade community members from entering the central forest reserves to cut trees for timber and firewood. 

“In 2014, the president came to Kikandwa to launch the offices of Namwasa plantation forest. In his speech, he told us that we were lucky to have the opportunity of being neighbours to Bazungu tree planters. He urged us to follow their example,” says Lubega.

Lubega, who was a taxi driver at the time, says every time he saw woodlots of eucalyptus trees as he drove on the highway from Kampala to Kassanda, his heart yearned to own them. So he took the president’s advice to heart. 

“At the time, NFC planted nursery beds and gave us tree seedlings free of charge. Their technical workers trained us on how to grow the trees and even came to our plots of land to give us practical lessons on how to space the plants,” he adds. 

Ten years down the line, Lubega is now basking in his decision to follow the president’s advice. Some of his trees have matured three years ago and from the proceeds, he has educated his children and is building two commercial buildings in Kikandwa trading centre. 

“Someone looking to gain from eucalyptus tree planting should first buy a kibanja of seven acres. You can use two acres to grow food for your family, while the five acres are dedicated to commercial tree planting,” he advises. 

Assuming that each acre of land takes 600 seedlings, the total number of trees will be 3,600. Some of the trees might be lost to romping cows or termites so, on average, the tree farmer might remain with 2,900 trees.

“In two and a half years, when pruning the trees, the farmer can make the decision to sell them off to people in the construction industry as rafters to support roofs. At that stage, a tree is sold at Shs10,000. So if you have 2,900 trees, you will earn Shs29 million,” Lubega says. 

A full grown tree of nine metres fetches between Shs80,000 and Shs120,000 on the market. While a ten metre tree can be sold at Shs140,000. Out growers like Lubega have the opportunity to sell their trees to NFC or to third party buyers. 

“Over the years, NFC has continued to train and motivate us. They even take out growers on study tours to learn from other people’s plantations. The only challenge in this business is that sometimes, the insecticides we buy in shops for the termites are not effective,” he says.

Lubega still maintains a small garden planted with maize and bean to feed his family. However, he no longer engages in commercial food or cash crop production.

Muhamudu Yiga Mberenge, another out grower in Kakandwa village, is growing eucalyptus trees on 60 acres of land. The trees are at different stages of growth, planted on a number of woodlots. 

“When I buy the seedlings, I also hire workers to prepare the ground and plant them in straight lines. On average, I spend about Shs20,000 on caring for each tree and when they mature, each of them fetches between Shs90,000 and 130,000,” he says. 

Unlike Lubega, Mberenge does not have a separate garden for food. He plants beans and groundnuts between the young eucalyptus trees, saying this helps them to grow straight.

“When I am thinning my woodlots, the trees I cut down are sold off as saw logs and I use the proceeds to pay my children’s school fees. This means I earn from the woodlots even before the trees mature. From these proceeds, I have also opened up a shop in Kikandwa trading centre,” Mberenge adds.

Another innovation he has set up next to one of his larger woodlots is charcoal burning using the trees he has thinned out of the woodlots.

“Previously, we had been made to believe that one couldn’t get charcoal out of eucalyptus. But, instead of throwing away the trees that have failed to grow, I decided to burn them into charcoal. So far, I have filled 120 bags with good charcoal,” he says.  

Mberenge adds that since he is proving that commercial tree species are good for charcoal burning, this will, in the future, lead charcoal burners away from natural forests. Instead, like construction workers, they will also be lining up at the woodlots of the out growers, buying trees.

“If I sell each bag of charcoal at Shs45,000, I hope to reap Shs5.4m, which can be disposable income for my family,” Mberenge says.

Danger of food insecurity 
With the proceeds from commercial woodlots beyond the imagination of the out growers there is a fear that they will eventually abandon food crop production leading to food insecurity.

However, John Mary Kisembo, NFC’s sustainability program manager, says the company engages the community on food production before they are allocated tree seedlings. 

“Our teams map out their woodlots, inspect the land to ensure that they have enough for both food production and tree growing, and then, advise them on how much portion of land they can use for the trees. Most of our out-growers have complied because they understand the need for food security,” he says. 

It is important to realise that wherever there are forests, there will always be a community that has interest in using the forest for medicine, shelter, and food. Understanding this, and working with the community to solve some of their social problems, underscores the successes of commercial forestry.

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