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Leucaena Farmer Forum

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Leucaena Farmers Forum

Farmer Forum To Examine Possibilities For Generating Income From Leucaena And Agricultural Residues

The First Honduras Farmer Forum on Leucaena/AgroResidues will be held  October 15, 2007 at the Hotel Esperanza, La Esperanza, Honduras at 10 am in the Conference Room. Honduran farmers will get an opportunity to discuss their interest in growing Leucaena as well as developing profit centers for available biomass resources such as rice straw, wheat straw, cotton refuse, rice hulls and other agricultural wastes.

 This is the first of a series of Farmer Forums being held in Honduras on Leucaena Effect Agroforestry,  the sustainable agricultural and agroindustrial system incorporating the utilization of agroresidues, Leucaena and other alternative crops, cosponsored by The Leucaena Production Society and Atletico Lenca, a team belonging to CODET.

The Farmer Forums will tap into the interests of farmers for developing new profit centers. Leucaena Effect Agroforestry Products include organic food production and processing, organic fertilizer and soil amendments, livestock feed production, production of fuels from biomass, Non-Wood paper making, reforestation on cut over lands, and Leucaena/alternative crop based industries. Leucaena based industries run the gamut from wreath manufacture and animal litter to Non Wood paper.

 LEUCAENA AGRORESIDUES PRODUCTS THAT CAN BE PRODUCED IN TROPICAL COUNTRIES

The scheduled Farmer Forums include in November , "Methods of Drying and Preserving Plant Based Livestock Feeds", and the December Farmer Forum is on "Creating a Community Leucaena Effect Agroforestry Projects." Other Farmer Forums dealing with Sustainable Agriculture and Leucaena Effect Agroforestry based Rural industrial development will be held every two months.

The Farmer Forum format begins with invited speakers, who share information and ideas with the farmers attending. Then, farmers go into small groups to discuss the ideas that were presented and come up with possible solutions to problems or develop questions to bring back to the larger group. Finally everyone joins in a free and open discussion of the ideas shared.

All farmers and or citizens interested in the possibility of developing sustainable agricultural practices are invited to attend. One of the goals of the Farmer Forums is to give farmers a place to share their ideas and meet with other members of the community so they can share their concerns, discover mutual problems and develop solutions by working together.

The Farmer Forums are free and open to the public. For more information on how you can participate, contact Dr. Cross at

 kenaf@kenafdoyen.com

You will be welcome. For more information on Leucaena Effect Agroforestry,  write to:

 kenaf@kenafdoyen.com

Here Are Some Questions To Be Covered At The Forum

1. How old Should Leucaena Be When Used for Livestock Feed
2. Can Leucaena be made into hay?
3. Can Leucaena be made into silage?
4. What kind of protein level does Leucaena have?
5. Have any tests been made on feeding Leucaena to livestock?
6. How many tons of Leucaena can I make per acre?
7. Is it feasible to make and sell commodity products like particleboard from Leucaena in the US marketplace if you are a small producer?
8. Are there building materials that can fill niche markets?
9. How much capital investment is involved in a building materials plant
10. What about insulation, roofing felts
11. When is the best time to plant Leucaena?
12. What kind of special equipment do I need to grow Leucaena?
13. What kinds o fertilizers do I need?
14. What can I do about nematodes?
15. W\hat other diseases of Leucaena are there?
16. Can Leucaena grow in poor soil?
17. Can Leucaena  grow in Soybean land? Cotton Land?
18. How about planting Leucaena by broadcasting?
19. Do I drill the seed?
20. How much could I make per acre if there a locally available livestock feed plant?
21. Is there a way to make a profit from fuel briquettes for export?
22. How can I make livestock feed from Leucaena without  lots of equipment?
23. How many acres of Leucaena are break even for me?
24. How much time in the field compared to say cotton, does Leucaena take?
25. Can I use Leucaena as a profit center if I raise livestock and want to process it through them?
26. Is it better to drill or broadcast the seed?
27. What AgroResidues do you produce on your farm that you would like to have a market for?
28. Why if Leucaena makes such good paper, hasn't anyone started making paper from Leucaena?
29. What products could be made from Leucaena combined with rice straw? Wheat straw? Rice hulls?
30. How much AgroResidues are burned everyday?
31. What kinds off arming system do we need to stop burning our fields?
32. What product are made from Leucaena?
33. What market for Leucaena products are available right now?
34. What about the Japanese market for separated Leucaena? Is there a way to open this up?
35. I understand there is market for Leucaena pulp. How can we get Leucaena pulped locally?
36. What about international markets for Leucaena? How do I tap into local livestock feed markets?
37. Can we form a chapter of the Leucaena Production Society in my area?
38. What is the market potential for Leucaena products?
39. How much does the seed cost per pound?
40. How many acres do I have to plant?
41. Where will I get the seeds?
42. Who can I call when I need help?
43. Is there a growers group just for Leucaena? 
44. How many years has USDA been doing research on Leucaena?
45. Did you know how Leucaena may be used 100% paper Fibre or a s blend with AgroResidues?
46. What are the possibilities of developing a Leucaena based livestock feed industry in Honduras?
47. What about using Leucaena to make fuelwood as a home based business?
48. Does Leucaena wood make good heatboard?
49. How much equipment is needed to process and manufacture Leucaena for use as fuel briquettes?
50. Are there any environmental constraints on making this product?
51. Can a good natural fertilizer be made from Leucaena and agriculture residues?
52. How rich is Leucaena/AgroResidues fertilizer?
53. For producing a natural fertilizer, what kind of equipment will I need?
54. Can I start a small scale natural fertilizer product development?
55. Are there niche markets for this type of product?
56. Are there any environmental constraints on making this product?
57. What equipment is needed to produce wood products from Leucaena?
58. What about poultry feed?
59. Are there any environmental constraints on making this product?
60. What about packaging and bagging?

Leucaena Farmer Summary

Leucaena is a crop with many potential benefits for tropical farmers. In order to find out how we at the Leucaena Effect Agroforestry division of ISAI. can best serve you as a tropical farmer, we would appreciate your completing the following questionnaire. Thank you very much.

ABOUT YOUR FARMING OPERATION

Name 

Phone: (     ) ___________________

----Soybeans

----Rice

----Wheat

----Cotton

----Corn

----SET ASIDE

----Tractors

----Combine

----Other Equipment

Address

County Acres Farmed: ________________

ABOUT Leucaena

1. Have you ever heard about Leucaena?

2. Where did you see information about Leucaena?

3. Where do you usually get your information about new crops:

Would You Be Interested In Growing Leucaena?

1. Would you be interested in growing Leucaena?

2. If you decide to grow Leucaena, how many acres would you be able to devote to it?

3. Would you grow Leucaena if it could use your present equipment?

4. What profit per acre would you have to see before you would start growing Leucaena?

5. Would you be willing to try a small plot on your farm as an experiment?

6. What do you think the future of growing Leucaena in your country is?

7. Would you be interested in growing Leucaena for feeding livestock?

8. Do you have set aside acres you could grow Leucaena on?

WHAT ABOUT PROCESSING Leucaena?

1. How far would you be willing to haul Leucaena for processing?

2. How much would you be willing to pay for a small scale Leucaena livestock feed plant if you wanted to grow Leucaena for the market?

3. Would you be interested in having your cooperative buy a portable Leucaena livestock feed plant and bring the plant to your farm to process the crop?

ABOUT Leucaena MARKETING

1. Would you want to develop a small scale processing plant and produce/ market Leucaena locally (horse bedding, lab animal litter, livestock feed, poultry litter)?

2. Would you be willing to sell your Leucaena to the Japanese?

3. Would you grow Leucaena on a contract basis with a Japanese firm?

Leucaena AGRO-INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS

1. Would you be interested in developing an additional profit center on your farm by producing, packaging and marketing:

AFTER YOU COMPLETE YOUR QUESTIONNAIRE

Return completed questionnaire to

 kenaf@kenafdoyen.com