Trees on small farms: Multipurpose tree species research for the arid and semi-arid tropics

In recognition of the rapid depletion of tropical forest resources and the increased scarcity of fuelwood and other tree products, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) designed and funded the Forestry/Fuelwood Research and Development Project. F/FRED provides a network through which scientists exchange research plans, methods and results on the production and use of trees to meet the needs of small-scale farmers in Asia. These fast-growing, high-yielding trees are appropriately termed multipurpose tree species (MPTS). To date, network trials have been established on 16 sites in the humid and semi-humid tropics. Participants are 10 Asian scientists from Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand.