Ministry to develop 500,00 small-holders' forests in 2007

The Forestry Ministry will develop some 500,000 hectares of small-holders` forests in 2007 as part of its efforts to realize the targeted 2-3 percent growth in the forestry sector."We will try to realize it by accelerating the expansion of plantation forests. We will encourage people to develop plantation forests," Forestry Minister MS Kaban said here on Tuesday after attending a discussion on "Making Well-Informed Choices About Forests." The discussion was organized in cooperation with the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).