1 Introduction
Bengal is the birth place of Match Industry in India. The first match wood industry was established in West Bengal in 1920 s and Second in Tamil Nadu during 1923 at Sivakasi producing Lucifer matches. The small scale handmade match industries in Sivakasi, Kovilpatti, Sattur, Kalugumalai, Elayirampannai and Sankarankoil towns of Tamil Nadu state show a highly organized network (Saresh et.al., 2011). Wooden match production in India is split into three sectoral categories; the mechanized large scale sector; the handmade small scale sector; and the cottage sector. Around 82 per cent of the total match production is in the hand made, small scale accounted for 67 per cent and the cottage sector accounted to be only 15 per cent where technology has remained relatively simple. These two non mechanized sectors of the match industry are distinguished primarily by output size. The industry as a whole directly employs an estimated 2.50 lakh people with only 6000 of these in the mechanized sector. The cottage sector which involves totally manual operations and produces less than 75 million match sticks per year and is often household based, accounts for about 50 000 workers. Thus, small scale, factory based match production units employ by far the largest number of people involved in the match sector (Tandon, 1990) especially the women folk share 74 per cent of the total workforce employed in match production in the state of Tamil Nadu (Daljeet Singh, 2014).

On an average, the requirement of wooden match splints is 1.6 crore kg or 16000 tonnes  in a month. To meet this demand, the soft wood trees are also imported from China. It will take 15 to 20 days for the shipment to reach the Thoothukkudi port. During transit, the wooden logs get discolored and thus wooden splints extracted from them will become unfit for use, The cost of imported wooden splint is Rs. 46 per kg whereas in the local market it is available for even Rs 30 per kg (The Hindu 2015). Moreover, there is no possibility of getting them imported on a continuous basis. To meet the raw material demand, re-plantation of soft wood trees in the farm lands are planned by the producing firms.

The major raw materials used in the production of safety matches are soft woods used to make the match sticks which is also known as “Splints” and boxes and chemicals for the match heads and the friction surface of the boxes. With the exception of the sulphur, all the basic raw materials are produced within India. A full appreciation of the employment potential of the match industry should also consider the workers involved in the production of all of these raw materials.

Historically, the Indian match industry depended on imported wood including aspen (Populus tremula) from Sweden, Canada, America and Russia; cotton wood (Populus deltoides) from Canada; balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera) from Manchuria; and linden (Tilia japonica) from Japan. But the government quickly moved to encourage the use of indigenous woods by restricting the import of foreign poplars. One result of the early use of poplar wood has been that the consumer continues to associate good quality matches with light colored wood, placing further limitations on the selection of indigenous species.

A large number of Indian tree species have been found suitable for use in the match industry. Among the most important Indian match woods are Bombax ceiba which is good for boxes as well as splints, Indian aspen, Evodia roxburghiana and white mutty, Ailanthus excelsa both suitable for high quality splints. Among many species tested, only a few are acceptable for making high quality boxes and match splints. One such species for match splints is Ailanthus excelsa which is drawn from farm lands, social forestry and agroforestry practices and from the forest fringes. Most of the match industries are having their own agents to supply the raw materials to the Match Splints industry operated in Tamil Nadu. The match industries are facing several constraints in getting the raw materials and hence special effort has been taken to assess the sources of supply of raw materials and the performance of match industries in the context of meeting the demand for the splints in the western part of Tamil Nadu as part of the students exposure visit to the Match Splints Industry and to infuse the confidence to the students in establishing such potential demand driven industry in Tamil Nadu.

2 Design of the Study
The Western Part of Tamil Nadu is blessed with the textile related business and it has the name of Cotton Zone of Tamil Nadu. Amidst this textile business, one industry in small scale engaged in receiving the Ailanthus excelsa wood as raw materials for making match splints and the finished output (Match Splints) is being sent to different match making industries in the southern belt of Tamil Nadu which is an unrelated business in this zone.

The Horticultural College and Research Institute of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Periyakulam is running an academic program which runs to four year duration in which Agribusiness Management is a course which taught capacity building and confidence building exercise on how to establish an Agribusiness enterprise and how efficiently one can run the enterprise with the available resources. In this circumstance, the second year students of Horticultural College and Research Institute were taken to different agribusiness enterprises to have an exposure visit to infuse confidence among them. The Ideal Match Splints Limited located in Western Part of Tamil Nadu is one such small scale industry aimed at for the students exposure visit.

The Match Splints Industry employs 15 casual wage laborers, one permanent supervisor and they were managed by the Managing Director of the Company. All the respondents in the industry were personally discussed and their experiences were incorporated in this paper following a case study approach. The data gathered were subjected to the descriptive statistics like mean and percentage analysis only and the survey was conducted and the results were analyzed and documented for guidance and follow up by the agripreneurs and the data related to the year 2014. Since the data presented are based on case study approach, one could understand the strength and the limitations associated with the findings.

3 Results and Discussion
The main objective of writing this paper is to highlight the performance of Match Splints Industry in Western Tamil Nadu and to highlight the strengths associated with the industry to guide and motivate the young agripreneurs in that field on the following heads
Match Splints and Matches Manufacturing Units in Tamil Nadu
Sources of Raw Materials supplied to the Match Splints Industry
Out Turn of Match Splints
Methodology of Processing of Match Wood
Details of Human Resources Employed
Cost of Production of Match Splints
Price of Output and Distribution of Match Splints
Trends in the Export Prices of Match Splints and
Constraints Faced by the Match Splints Industry

3.1 Match Splints and Matches Manufacturing Units in Tamil Nadu
In Tamil Nadu, there are industries dealing with match splints manufacturing alone and some of the industries have both Match splints manufacturing and matches manufacturing facility. Though there were 39 units available in Tamil Nadu, the author could not mobilize the data separately on how many units are manufacturing match splints alone and how many are manufacturing both match splints and matches production under one umbrella. However, in support of this article, the details on number of match units available in Tamil Nadu are accessed from the web sites and the details are delineated in Table 1.

Table 1 Match Splints and Matches Manufacturing Units in Tamil Nadu

Table 1 revealed the details of number of match splints and matches manufacturing units in Tamil Nadu. There were 39 match splints and matches manufacturing units in different pockets of Tamil Nadu. Among these, Virudhunagar district alone possess 24 units which are accounting for 61.54 per cent to the total followed by Thoothukkudi district possess 8 units which is accounted for 20.51 per cent to the total match units revealing that the Southern Zone of Tamil Nadu is blessed with 32 match units accounting for around 80 per cent to the total match manufacturing units. About 92 per cent of the total production of matches in the country is being produced in these places (The Hindu, 2015).

Matches produced in Tamil Nadu should be distributed both in domestic as well as in international market. For that there were 7 exporters whom are spread in different districts. Southern Zone of Tamil Nadu alone had 72 per cent of exporters and the North Western Part of Tamil Nadu had only 28 per cent of exporters of match splints produced in Tamil Nadu. India exported match splints worth of $ 289976.

3.2 Sources of Raw Materials Supplied to the Match Splints Industry
The Government is the most dominant player in the forestry sector and directly own and manage about 97 per cent of all the forests. Whereas, more than 90 per cent of India’s wood based products are manufactured in private sector alone (Dhinman, 2011). Wood based industries cannot survive without wood which is the basic raw material for their operations. The gap between its demand and supply is widening and the scenario is fast changing with increased wood requirement and reduced supply from the existing sources. FAO reports revealed the status on consumption of wood and wood related products, indicates that in a decade of time (1999 to 2009), the consumption is constantly increased. National Forestry Action Program indicates a negative wood balance of 599.6 M cubic meter by 2015 (FAO 2009). Similar estimates are given by Rai and Chakrabarti (1996) while the ICFRE estimates were comparatively high which is arrived at 1873 M cubic meter (ICFRE, 2003). However, the major raw materials used in the production of safety matches are soft woods used to make the match splints and boxes. Among several species tried, Ailanthus excelsa found to be the best fit and hence the details of sources of supply of raw materials are analyzed and the details are presented in Table 2.

Table 2 Details of Sources of Raw Materials Supplied to Match Splints Industry

Table 2 revealed that the match wood species supplied is Ailanthus excelsa from different sources. The sources of supply were from the districts of Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Erode, Salem and other Disticts. Among these districts, Tiruppur found to supply the raw materials to the match splints industry to the tune of 23 per cent followed by Coimbatore district capable of supplying the raw materials to the tune of 19 per cent to the total supply. Higher quantity of raw material supply is possible due to the establishment of Ailanthus plantations in the farm fields and under schemes of Social Forestry and Agroforestry which is practiced by the western zone considerably. Salem District is able to supply around 220 tonnes of Ailanthus which is followed by Erode District which are respectively accounted for 16 and 14 per cent to the total supply. Other districts were able to provide around 380 tonnes of raw materials to the match splints industry. Put together the Match Splints Industry could receive the raw materials to the tune of 1360 tonnes per annum. In that only 1240 tonnes were consumed in a working day of 310 days per annum and the other stocks were kept under inventory to meet the demand during the peak seasons of match splints demand. The marketing channels present in the match wood supply is Producers (Farmers) Industrial Consumers. The Industry is purchasing the match wood at farm gate using the agents of the match wood firm (www. Academia.edu/6472448/).

1.3. Out Turn of Match Splints in Match Wood Industry
The quantity and quality of match wood supplied are the determinants of getting the quality output of Match Splints. Hence quality of raw material supply becomes important. The match wood which is received in the industry is fixed with the minimum girth of 18 inches and the same should be free from infection and deterioration. Such portions should be carefully examined and detected for deleting the same from the quality wood lot. After sorting the quality wood, one has to assess the out turn of match splints per ton of match wood supplied and hence the details are analyzed and the results are presented in Table 3.

Table 3 Out Turn of Match Splints in Match Industry

Table 3 revealed the details of out turn of match splints per ton of match wood. There were four types of output could be realized from one ton of Match wood. They were Match Splints, Fuel Wood, Bark and the Wood Residues. Among these output, the fuel wood accounted for 41 per cent which is arrived in actual quantity is found to be 410 Kgs followed by Match Splints. The quantity of match splints realized per ton of Match Wood is arrived at 340 Kgs which is accounted for 34 per cent. Ailanthus bark is accounted for 18 per cent. The Quantity of bark realized per ton of match wood is arrived at 180 Kgs. The wood residue is accounted to be around 70 Kgs which is accounted for 7 per cent to the one ton of raw materials utilized in the industry. The extent of quality output realization is based on the expertise associated with the skilled man power with the industry.

1.4. Methodology of Processing the Match Wood
In a mechanized industry, the entire process of match splints making takes place under one roof from log to match splints. In the hand made sector, the veneer for match boxes and splints are produced separately. Stage by stage processing of logs into the match splints is assessed and the details are presented in Table 4.

Table 4 Methodology of Processing of Match Wood

Table 4 revealed the details of different stages involved in processing of logs into match splints. In the first stage, the logs with more than 18 inches were selected and sent for billeting. In the second stage, the billets of Ailanthus logs were made with the length of 15 inches uniformly using the machine saw. In the third stage, debarking is carried out by the labor force who demands the bark for fuel wood which is supplied to them at free of cost. They can extract the bark from the billets and they can make use of the same for their fuel requirements.

In the fourth stage, the debarked billets were subjected to the peeling machine and the sheets were peeled from the billets to the extent possible and the sheets were trimmed manually for getting the uniformity for extracting the match splints in the fifth stage. In the sixth stage, the peeled sheets were cut into the match splints with the lengths of 38, 39, 40 and 42 MM based on the demand with the user industries. On a special occasion, the splints were also extracted with the lengths of 50, 60, 80,120 and 180 MM for preparing crackers by obtaining special indents from the match industries. After extracting the match splints, the same were smoked using the sulphur to get uniform color in the output of match splints.

After processing the match splints, the same were dried under the hot sun in the eighth stage and then the same were packed using the gunny or plastic bags of 60 kgs each and then the same are dispatched to the match industries located in Sivakasi and Kovilpatti. In each stage, timely processing is required to avoid damages.

1.5. Details of Human Resources Employed in the Match Splints  Industry
Delivering the quality match splints as output depends on the skilled man power available with the match splints industry. In this respect, the number of persons got employment in the industry and their role is analyzed and the details are analyzed and the results are presented in Table 5.

Table 5 Details of Human Resources Employed in the Match Splints Industry

Table 5 revealed that match splints industry is employing a total of 15 labor force for carrying out the different operations performed in the industry as revealed in the Table 4. Among the 15 labor force, only one employee is permanent and he is entrusted with the task of overall supervision of the activities of Match Splints Industry. Among the labor force category, two types of wages are prevalent. There were two Machine Operators who are caring the peeling of sheets from the log and trimming the sheets whom are paid Rs 8750 per month at the rate of Rs 350 per day. The Machine Operator – II is able to deliver the quality match splints according to the indents made by the Match Industry.

The labor force drawn from Bihar and Odhisa is entrusted with the task of removal of barks, assembling, drying and packing and forwarding of Match splints. The labor force were given with accommodation facility so as to have their own food and basic requirements. However, the labor force is feeling that the working hours is too long and the wages paid were poor to the tasks executed. The labor force from Bihar and Odhisa is receiving Rs 300 per day and the monthly wages is arrived at Rs 7500. The migration of labor from Bihar and Odhisa is mainly due to the absence of employment opportunities in their native state and hence they are migrating to the developed state like Tamil Nadu and are employed in different sectors. Match industry is one of the industry started utilizing the labor force form Bihar and Odhisa for different operations. In a nutshell, the match splints industry is employing 15 laborers for converting four tons of logs per day to get the quality match splints and meeting the requirements of laborers by providing the accommodation and other basic amenities.

1.6. Cost of Production of Match Splints
Cost of production is a guiding force for the young Agripreneurs who wanted to establish a business unit. In the preceding chapters, we have discussed the potential business and its economic incentives associated with that. One can compare and establish the agribusiness venture in the desirable locale. In this unit, the cost of production of match splints is discussed in detail and the results are presented in Table 6.

Table 6 Cost of Production of Match Splints

Table 6 revealed that the cost of production details are discussed under four heads viz., Fixed cost involved in the production of match splints; variable expenses involved in the processing of match splints; revenue realized from sale of output of one ton of raw materials and the cost of production of match splints per ton.

The fixed expenses involved in the production process of match splints are rental value of land and buildings, depreciation cost on machineries, annual electrical installation charges, interest on fixed expenses, land tax including cess, salary on permanent staff and the share of establishment cost. All these fixed expenses were arrived at 4.51 lakhs which is accounted for only 6 per cent to the total cost of production of match splints in the match wood industry. Among the fixed expenses, major investment is found to be on the machineries. The Annual depreciation cost on machineries is accounted to be 1.40 lakhs which is accounted for only around 2 per cent to the total cost of production of match splints.

The variable expenses involved in the production process of match splints are cost of raw materials (Match Wood), Labor charges, electricity and fuel expenses, cost of marketing which included sales promotion, packing and forwarding expenses, interest on variable cost and the cost of sulphur which is used for fumigation of match splints to get a uniform color to the match splints. The total variable expenses incurred were arrived at Rs 70.43 lakhs which is accounted for 94 per cent to the total cost of production of match splints in the Match Wood industry. Among the variable expenses, the major investment goes to the purchase of raw materials from different zones of origin which is arrived at Rs 49.60 lakhs per annum which is accounted for 66 per cent to the total cost of production of match splints. Another important component in the variable expenses were the labor charges or wages which is arrived at Rs 12.90 lakhs accounted for 17 per cent to the total cost of production of match splints.

The total cost of production of match splints in the match wood industry is included the fixed cost and the variable expenses both are accounted for Rs 74.94 lakhs. The cost of production of match splints per ton is arrived at Rs 17776 and the per kg production cost is arrived at Rs 18/-. The sale price of Match Splints on an average is accounted to be Rs 41 per kg. The efficiency of a firm in an industry could be evaluated or assessed by computing Output – Input Ratio (www.farmdoc.illinois.edu/irwin/archive/books/markets-prices/markets-prices_chapter21.pdf.). It revealed that the production of Match Splints is highly profitable according to the Output-Input Ratio of 2.52. It revealed that for one rupee of investment the company could realize a gross income of Rs 2.52 and the net income of Rs 1.52.

In respect of actual income generated from the production process is composed of three sources of income viz., sale of match splints; sale of fuel wood and the sale of wood residues. All these are priced at the market price prevalent during the November 2014 and the same are taken into account in arriving the gross income in the production of match splints. The sale of match splints alone capable of generating 172.85 lakhs as gross income and the sale of fuel wood is able to generate a revenue of Rs 15 lakhs per annum and the wood residues are capable of generating only 0.87 lakhs per annum. Put together, all the three output could generate a total income of Rs 188.98 lakhs and the net income after deducting the total cost of production is arrived at Rs 114 lakhs per annum which is a considerable amount of income to the match wood industry and hence one could enter into the business with confidence by arranging the contract agreement with the farmer by promoting farm forestry and agroforestry schemes in the farm front.

1.7. Break – Even Analysis for Match Splints Industry
In an industry, the analysis of break even quantity becomes very much important to know how much output to be produced in the industry to break even the no profit and no loss situation. In this respect, the details of break even quantity are analyzed using the formula for that purpose and the results are analyzed and the details are presented in Table 7.

Table 7 Break Even Analysis for Match Splints Industry

Table 7 revealed that the total quantity of match splints produced by the match splints industry is arrived at 421.600 tonnes per annum. On sale of match splints at the rate of Rs 41000 per ton, the total revenue realizable is arrived at Rs 172.85 lakhs. To produce the match splints of one ton, the company has to spend Rs 16705. Using the data presented in Table 6, the break even quantity is arrived at 18.578 tonnes. It revealed that the no profit and no loss situation could be realized by the match splints industry on production of 18.578 tonnes per annum. Whereas, the industry is capable of producing 421.600 tonnes by which the safety margin to the company is arrived at 403 tonnes. From this one could infer that the company is running profitably by producing 2160 per cent higher output over the break even quantity and keeps running profitably and hence young Agripreneurs could enter into this venture very boldly. However, experience makes the man perfect and capable of learning the in and outs in the business and hence the Agripreneur who wants to establish such business venture can gain expertise for one or two years and then one can enter into this venture so as to develop the capabilities to address the emerging issues in the business.

1.8. Price of Output and Distribution of Match Splints
The output realized from the production process is Match Splints; Fuel Wood; Bark and Wood Residues. All the four products are distributed to the user agencies on time based on the indents made by the firms. The details are analyzed and the results are presented in Table 8.

Table 8 Price of Output and Distribution of Match Splints Industry

Table 8 revealed that the match splints is one of the main output which is mostly demanded in Kovilpatti and Sivakasi of Southern Tamil Nadu where 90 per cent of match industries of India is located (Saresh et.al. 2011) and the cracker industry are mushroomed could attract large volume of match splints for their use in their production. Though the match splints are priced from Rs 36 to 46 in a year, the average price of Rs 41 ($ 0.66) was taken into account in arriving the gross income. When one could compare the cost of Production per kg of match splints, the sale price is comparatively higher and the firm should be in a position to produce more during the demanding season.

Fuel Wood is another important output which is consumed in brick kilns, hotels and restaurants and tea shops which is priced at Rs 3 per kg which is demanded in Coimbatore and Tiruppur Districts. The bark is one of the outputs which are demanded in the households for heating the water during the cold months and the same is also used as fuel wood for cooking among the poor households. They used to visit the industry and extract the bark while they are fresh and take the goods at free of cost. The dried bark is sometimes sold at the rate of Rs one per kg of bark locally and the wood residue is another byproduct which is also used by the rural households and the same is received at the price of one rupee per kg. The remaining is planned to be consumed at the industry itself for making briquettes. The industry is getting ready to install the briquetting unit to earn another output which is also demanded in the restaurants and hotels and bakery units heavily.

The match splints industry located in Western Zone of Tamil Nadu are manufacturing the match splints alone which is demanded in the Southern Part of Tamil Nadu where the match manufacturing units are mushroomed and has more orders for different product lines like match sticks, cracker sticks and other value added product using the match splints. Hence they are not planned for establishing match manufacturing unit as an additional in their manufacturing space. However, the wooden residues are not fetching right price as residues, the industry has planned to establish the briquetting unit in the manufacturing space as part of diversification and value addition to fetch higher income.

To sum up, the outputs generated from the match wood industry is consumed by different user agencies at appropriate prices which is agreeable to both the producer and the consumers. The outputs realized are capable of generating considerable income to the industry and motivating the firm to run by overcoming the shortcomings in this sector.

1.9. Trend in the Export Prices of Match Splints
The paper has highlighted the local market price of match splints in the above section. However the price of match splints and the wooden safety matches prevailed in the export markets is important to have better understanding for the agripreneurs. The details are analyzed and the results are presented in Table 9.

Table 9 Details of Export Price of Wooden Match Splints and the Safety Matches from India

Table 9 revealed the details of export prices of wooden match splints and the wooden safety matches which are exported from India. The importing countries were found to be Kenya, Tanzania, Turkey, Zambia and Djibouti. The average number of shipments per year found to be around five and the average export price of wooden match splints per kg is arrived at Rs 65.50. Whereas, the average price of wooden safety matches per kg is arrived at Rs. 80.67 and the percentage change in the price of safety matches over the match splints is arrived at 23.16 per cent. When one could compare the local market price and the export market price of wooden match splints per kg, the percentage change in the price is arrived at 59.76. It revealed the status of export price capable of fetching higher benefits to the exporters of match splints without value addition. The local market is managing largely with wax matches and trying to export the wooden match splints which are demanded heavily in the export market and hence the producers of match splints should come forward to establish their own softwood plantations which are suitable for extracting the match splints to tap the benefits of export market.

1.10. Constraints Faced by the Match Splints Industry
The constraints faced by the Match Splints Industry are classified as Institutional Constraints and Individual Constraints. The institutional constraints identified were Non Availability of Sufficient Raw Materials; Higher Wages to Labor and Non Availability of Skilled Labor and the Frequent Power Failure. These details are analyzed and the results are presented in Table 10.

Table 10 Details of Constraints Faced by the Match Splints Industry

The non availability of sufficient raw materials found to be the major constraint reported which could be overcome by establishing the Ailanthus plantations in the farm lands by entering into the Contractual agreement by the match wood firm following the practice adopted by the WIMCO Seedlings so that the raw material demand could be met.

The second constraint is Higher Wages to Labor and non availability of skilled labor. Here, skilled labor means the labor capable of operating the machineries available in the match splints industry through experience or with some basic knowledge. On the individual constraints side if we examine, the laborers were feeling that the length of working hours extends even up to 9 hours or 10 hours in a day. But these are not appropriately compensated and hence they demand higher wages. A compromise is needed between the labor force and the institution managers by weighing the individual difficulties in executing the tasks in realizing the quality output. Skilled labor could be easily absorbed in the open market if the company is able to pay appropriate wages to the employees.

Frequent power failure is another constraint the institution is facing. This can be overcome by establishing the generator facility or by establishing the co generation unit by utilizing the wood residues available with them.

Among the individual constraints, the poor accomm- odation facility could be overcome by providing good accommodation facility to them during the winter and summer season. The health of the labor force is a backbone for the success of the company and hence good rooms can be constructed and provided to them for smooth running of the business.

2 Summary and Conclusions
The Match Splints Industry located in the Western Zone of Tamil Nadu is capable of meeting the raw material requirements, able to generate various outputs through which it is generating higher income per annum. On examining the various issues of production to revenue generation by an enterprising candidate, he could easily convince on the aspects of establishing an agribusiness successfully.

3 Recommendations
The Match Splints industry is able to get Wood Residues considerably. Instead of selling the same in the open market, the industry itself can enter into the venture of establishing a briquette making unit in the available space and some more employment generation could be met and at the same time additional revenue is also possible.

To meet the raw material requirements without any interference, the industry can enter into the contractual agreement with the producer farmers in the nearby districts following the pattern of WIMCO industries and Tamil Nadu News Sprint and Papers Limited, Karur.

Instead of sending the match splints to the Sivakasi and Kovilpatti for production of matches, the Match Wood industry can explore the possibilities of establishing additional units for production of match boxes and a mini match unit may be established with the technical support of experts in that field which in turn may promote an SSI clusters in Western Part of Tamil Nadu.

References
Dhinman R.C., 2011, Private sector in short rotation forestry: opportunities and Challenges, Indian Journal of Ecology, 38 (Special Issue): 27-34

Daljeet S., 2014, Socio economic conditions of women workers in match industry, Ministry of Labor and Employment: Chandigarh, pp.1

ICFRE, 2003, Forestry statistics 2003, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Dehra Dun: Uttrakhand Rai S.N., and Chakrabarti S.K., 1996, Demand and supply of fuelwood, Timber and Fodder in India, Forest Survey of India: Dehra Dun

Saresh N.V., Sankanur M., Singh R., Verma A., and Nuthan D., 2011, Comparative ecological-economic study of short rotation tree cultivation and its impact on livelihood of local stakeholders in Tamil Nadu, Indian Journal of Ecology, 38 (Special Issue): 199-201

The Hindu, 2015, Match industries need wooden splints, 16^th July 2015