Establishment of hypothetical forest Plantation Company for (Swietenia macropylla) AirForest Plantation Limited

Abstract of the presentation of

Sampath Bandara

S. macrophylla is one of the most valuable furniture timbers in the world due to the decorative and attractive timber with good technical characteristics. In agro forestry systems it is used for shade and fuel wood. In 1840, Mahogany was first planted in Jaffna as an avenue tree. According to the 2010 data of   FAO there were 5505 ha of Mahogany cover in SL, mainly in the intermediate zone and low country wet zone of Sri Lanka.

AirForest Plantation Limited was established in 1998, and the head office located in No-6, Glenaber Pl, Colombo 03. This company provides numerous benefits to the investors such as Deed of the land, money back guarantee, right of transfer, providing maturity value of the plantation and free maintains facilities with online monitoring facility.

Though AirForest entered into forestry and agricultural plantation industry only 15 years ago (1998), the management of AirForest has decades of experience and knowledge in the field of plantation management. Currently, the company is managing plantations at Kurunegala, Monaragala, Galle, Udawalawa, Badulla, Kegalle and Beragala. (over 250 ha, island wide). AirForest is one of the forestry management companies which use Drip Irrigation System. This ensures a higher and rapid growth and a maximum harvest as each and every tree gets sufficient nutrition by drippers.

AirForest Plantations ensures continuous monitoring and improvements by forestry consultants and experts in the industry and over 15,000 delighted clients in Sri Lanka. It provides harvest-purchase back guarantee, with many additional offers with exclusive premier membership benefits

This value addition is also a very important aspect in the plantation sector because it is eventually a business, and the increasing of profit becomes underlying target. The value addition to a plantation can be done in several aspects. It can be either by increasing the quantity of the timber produced from the plantation or by improving the quality of the mahogany produced and also especially by increasing the utility of the plantation land. Company exporting the Mahogany fruit (Sky Fruit) as a byproduct obtains from the plantation.

There are some difficulties of the Mahogany plantation sector; lack of suitable lands for establishment of plantations, shoot borer attacks, problems related to site quality, competition, problems of the labors, problems related to accessibility, lack of previous informations, political influences. 

Currently company is planning to expand the land area of the plantations and the plantation species verities. And Carbon fixing value is identified as a new business opportunity.

Mahogany sapling in a plantation of Sri Lanka