1. Outline of the Project
1.1 Background of the ProjectIn the 1980s-1990s, Thailand's forest were diminishing rapidly due to an increasing demand for timber fuelled by rapid economic development and an increase in population, as well as an increase in the cultivation of forests and slash-and-burn agriculture carried out by poor farmers. Thailand's Royal Forest Department has prioritized the maintenance of 40% of all land as forest in its national social and economic development plan and promotes afforestation. The Thai government recognized the need for technology that enables the efficient use of timber and development of timber alternatives, and requested Japan's assistance in a Project-type technical cooperation to develop a manufacturing technique for pulp and paper which was expected to meet the increasing demand and to extend the method. In response, the Thai and Japanese governments agreed to establish a project aiming at creating a new model for an agroforestry system that would enable the regional agricultural societies to sustainably develop through the production of pulp and paper. 1.2 Project Overview(1) Overall GoalThe effectiveness of the new agroforestry system model is verified through a verification study on a model community, and the model is introduced into the rural communities in Thailand. (2) Project PurposeA new model for an agroforestry system with higher utilization of forestry and agricultural plant materials is developed for sustainable rural development. (3) Outputs a) The technologies on biological processes of the agroforestry system are developed. (4) Inputs (as of the Project's termination)Japanese side:
Thai Side:
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2. Evaluation Team
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3. Results of Evaluation3.1 Summary of Evaluation Results(1) ImpactIn order to extend the project results, KAPI attempted to apply the new agroforestry system model to the Phufah Project (1) from 2001. KAPI's activities included the planting of paper mulberry mixed with another crop (i.e. red beans), as recommended in the evaluation at the time of project termination, as well as the promotion of paper mulberry plantation for the prevention of slope erosion and landslides and technology transfer on paper production. Besides the activities in the Phufah Project, KAPI also conducted 12 training courses and workshops with 647 trainees from 2002 to 2005. KAPI also conducted further application of the technologies researched during the project to plants other than paper mulberry, extended its research activities to other fields such as product development and marketing, and provided technical guidance to persons concerned with the paper-making industry. Owing to the continuous and great attempts of KAPI mentioned above, the Overall Goal of the Project is considered to be partly achieved, as some components of the model, namely pulp and paper production, marketing, waste management, and environmental protection, have been adopted and carried out by communities and companies related to the paper industry. On the other hand, the component on paper mulberry plantation has just revealed its first step of achievement through the activities of communities in the Phufah Project, while other farmers tend to focus less on plantation activities. This may be due to the improvement of economic conditions after termination of the project and the trend towards more profitable economic crops or other well-paid jobs, and to the fact that Thailand still allows the export of paper products regardless of whether the raw materials are from the planted trees or natural trees in the forest. For this reason, farmers tend to take the easier way by not planting the paper mulberry trees but utilizing those found in forest. As for the impact not anticipated by the Project, the Project has contributed to farmer communities by setting a price standard for paper mulberry paper, categorizing the price of the thick paper and the thin paper. (2) Sustainabilitya. Technical AspectsThe sustainability of the counterparts in terms of research capabilities is considered to be high considering that the techniques and knowledge they obtained are being used in their research works and expanded to other fields. KAPI's capability for maintenance of equipment and machines used on a daily basis is considered to be moderately high, partly owing to the skills and techniques obtained during the implementation of the Project. b. Organizational AspectsThe sustainability in terms of human resources is very high considering that KAPI has been able to secure a very high retention rate of counterparts (i.e. 98 out of 99 staff, who were assigned as project counterparts, are still working in KU). KAPI is also likely to secure more staff for further research activities. c. Financial AspectsKAPI was able to maintain its financial sustainability by continuously getting support from KU and other institutions for research activities and technology transfer. However, the budget related to equipment repairs seems to be relatively unstable. d. Sustainability of Project EffectsUsing the skills and techniques obtained during the Project, KAPI has sustained its research activities for both development of the Agroforestry System Model and development of pulping and related technologies, while extending its research activities to other fields and further applying the technologies to other kinds of plants besides paper mulberry. In addition to the technologies for the better plantation, KAPI has also extended its research activities on pulp and paper production, marketing, waste management, and environmental protection, which are all the processes of the "new"agroforestry system model. 3.2 Factors that have promoted project(1) Impact
(2) Sustainability
3.3 Factors that have inhibited project(1) Impact
(2) SustainabilityThere is concern that product development at the handicraft-level may have limitations due to the price down of paper making from paper mulberry because handmade paper products are freely available on the market, while no problems with continuation of KAPI's activities for product development using paper mulberry paper and its technology transferring to farmers have occurred up to this time. 3.4 ConclusionsJudging from the techniques acquired by the counterparts and from institutional capabilities, both on the ability to secure a number of researchers and the ability to secure financial support, the sustainability of the Project is considered to be high. The research activities both for development of the Agroforestry System Model and development of pulping and related technologies have been continued and extended to other fields, and further application of the technologies to other kinds of plants is also conducted. It can be concluded that the project has partly achieved its overall goal by having some components of the model being carried out by communities, while activities to promote paper mulberry plantation are achieved to a lesser degree due to the fact that the economic situation in Thailand has drastically changed. 3.5 RecommendationsFor JICA:With regard to the necessity of utilizing some highly sophisticated equipment directly imported from Japan such as the BOD and COD analyzers, and the limited maintenance capacity in Thailand, it is recommended that an engineer who can conduct maintenance of such highly sophisticated equipment should be dispatched to KAPI for the technical transfer principally on the maintenance of such equipment. For KAPI:Product development of paper made from paper mulberry at the industrial level is one of the main factors for further continuation of KAPI's activities. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the promotion of the research and development of paper mulberry to be applied to industrial products, similar to the utilization of kenaf for building boards and draining material for preload in Japan. As an initial phase to start the research and development described above, KAPI should conduct an analysis of industries which can utilize paper mulberry as a product ingredient, and also consider the concrete fields to be developed, market needs, the practicable scope of technical activities by KAPI, and the necessity of technical cooperation from Japan. 3.6 Lessons Learned
3.7 Follow-up Situation
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