WOOD MAGAZINE - EDITION N°118 - FEBRUARY OF 2009

Statistics show that, over the past years, forest plantation area has been growing. In 2005 553 thousand ha were planted, in 2006, another 627 thousand hectares (SBS), for 2008, there is an estimate of 750 thousand hectares. In order to meet seedling demand for plantation it will be necessary to produce around 1.3 billion seedlings, thus generating more than 11 thousand direct jobs in nurseries and 300 million reais in production.

In order to meet this production increase, companies invest in updating, expansion, and implantation of new forest nurseries. However, such measures were not enough to meet sudden demand of nurseries, turning necessary incentive and investments in partnerships with Particular Nurseries.

Changes that occurred in forest nurseries were significant, particularly in the modernisation of physical structures and modernisation of seedling production (cloning).

Structurally, nurseries achieved a new production layout, similar to the industrial Assembly Lines. Production flow reorganisation of a nursery is essential, since labour represents a share of 60 to 70% of the seedling costs. Thus, in a commercial scale production there can not be bottlenecks in the process, since they can lead to operational income reduction and production deficit.

Despite progress, nurseries still need improvements, such as: better labour training; capacity-building for managers and operators, in order to optimise potential of new structures and processes; adjustments and training in the use of irrigation systems for water reduction, preventing root diseases and lixiviation of fertilisers; collection and recycling of rainwater on nursery or irrigation excess for reuse; use of solar energy for heating water heating in the asepsis of materials (trays, tubettes, houses, etc), reducing electric energy consumption; creation of social, environmental, economic indicators, which favour surveillance and evolution of nursery operations.

Regarding Particular Nurseries, they render a big service to the Forest Sector, in the complementation of seedlings for company plantations and, particularly, in meeting small farmers or entrepreneurs, those not comprised in the rent and promotion of the Forest companies.

Source: Elaborated by the Journalistic Team of the Magazine of the Wood