Chandigarh, Aug. 14 -- Punjab's ambitious plan to bring two lakh hectares of farmland under agroforestry over the next five years faces a critical challenge - ensuring farmers receive a fair share of returns from the timber trade, according to a draft report by the Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun, issued last month. The report has flagged inadequate marketing infrastructure, fluctuating timber prices, and the continued dominance of middlemen as factors that could erode farmer incomes even as the state scales up its agroforestry drive. The concerns come at a time when Punjab is pushing agroforestry under its Green Punjab Mission, distributing improved eucalyptus and poplar planting material to farmers to encourage adoption. Agroforestry involves growing trees alongside crops or other agricultural activities on farmland, giving farmers an additional source of income from timber. In Punjab, eucalyptus, poplar, drek and shisham are among the major species grown under the system. The state forest department has now sought fresh comments from senior forest and wildlife officials on the draft report titled "Study on Marketing Mechanism of Agroforestry Produce in Punjab", prepared by the FRI. The department has now asked officials to submit their views within a week.The report points out that unlike conventional crops, farmers growing trees have limited marketing options and often operate in a largely buyer-driven market, allowing intermediaries to capture a substantial share of the value. The absence of an adequate government marketing policy for tree-based produce remains a key concern.The report stresses that unless market reforms accompany the expansion of agroforestry, greater tree cultivation may not necessarily translate into better and more stable returns for farmers. For the study, the FRI surveyed around 970 of the 5,857 registered wood-based industries (WBIs) spread across Punjab's 16 Forest Divisions, covering about 16.56% of the total units....