8. FINANCIAL EVALUATION AND IMPLICATIONS OF SAWING RECOVERY OF CHAINSAWS AND MINI-BANDSAWS IN SMALLHOLDER TIMBER PROCESSING

chainsaws and mini-bandsaws in small-scale timber processing on Leyte Island, the Philippines. The sawing recovery rate for chainsawing was found to be 39 % while that for the mini-bandsaw was 52%. The financial feasibility of using both saws in processing timber from smallholder tree farms on the island as well as its policy implications are evaluated in this paper. The net revenue of small-scale sawn timber processing is PhP873/m3 from chainsawing and PhP1895 / m3 for bandsawing. Profitability of sawn timber processing was found to be highly sensitive to sawing recovery rate and therefore both the use of saws with a smaller kerf and training of the saw operators are recommended. Profitability was also found to be highly sensitive to haulage distance of sawn timber. Negative returns were predicted for a hauling distance of more than 2.25 km and 3 km for chainsawn timber processing and bandsaw milling, respectively. It is recommended that farmers, extension agents at local government units and Foresters of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) should consider road access in forestry promotion if tree farming is oriented towards the sawn-timber market