Problems
The following points are problems associated with agroforestry. It is anticipated many of these problem may be overcome by good research, effective planning and collaboration with other tree growers and Government forestry officers.
- Agroforestry is a relatively new concept in tropical and sub-tropical Australia and limited information is available about species performance and selection (Capill, 2001).
- Long production times requiring capital and labour intensive maintenance.
- Choosing the correct species to insure maximum returns.
- No magic species and time consuming trails must play a major role in all agroforestry operations to determine the most suitable species to be grown.
- Long production times and associated management cost over this time may exceed or reduce returns of the final saleable product.
- Small farm plantations and irregular supply have been of limited value to buyers of forest products (Gill, 1999) .
- Tree growers often lack the capital resources and technical knowledge necessary to ensure the production of high quality marketable timber (Gill, 1999).
- Most tree growers only plant, tend and harvest once in a lifetime, therefore often lack forest management and marketing expertise.
- Small tree growers cannot take advantage of professional forestry services as readily as owners of large plantations can (Gill, 1999).
- At this point in time there is uncertain by many potential agroforestry operators in relation to the status of plantations and how the various Vegetation and Environmental Legislations are and will be applied in the future.
- Agroforestry is a agricultural enterprise and subject to all the associated seasonal problems e.g. drought, fire, pests, diseases and floods.