LAND USE PLANNING FOR AGRO - FORESTRY PROGRAMMES IN TEA ESTATES

Abstract

Land use planning in tea estates is of prime importance in order to identify profitable andenvironmentally friendly land use options for lands unsuitable for tea. Agro-forestry isone of the land use options adopted in tea estates in order to meet the high fuel woodrequirements of tea factories and estate labour communities. A study was undertaken toselect lands for Agro-Forestry Programmes in five estates in the Nuwara Eliya district.Geographic Information System was used as a tool for land suitability classification.Uneconomical lands were classified based on factors such as existing tea type and presentyield, geographical distribution within the estates, and slope and elevation. A range oflands were identified for immediate and future agro-forestry programmes. Potentialimprovement in profitability was estimated for individual estate and as a group of estates.