Does Technical Progress in Agriculture have a Forest Saving or a Forest Clearing Effect? Theory and Evidence from Central Sulawesi

Enhancing agricultural technology is an important policy tool for improving livelihoods and stimulate economic growth in rural areas of developing countries. It is however not completely understood whether technical progress and agricultural intensification would reduce or aggravate pressure on forests (Angelsen et al, 1999). Does technical improvement diminish forest clearing by reducing the area farmers need to make a living? Or does technical progress lead to increased agricultural expansion and deforestation by rendering agriculture more profitable? The question of a ‘forest saving’ or a ‘forest clearing’ effect of technical progress is extremely relevant within the framework of interactions between environmental and socio-economic goals. Policy debates have been dominated by the assumption of a win-win relation between technical progress and forest conservation (Angelsen and Kaimowitz 2001).