Contribution of Non-Timber Forest Products in Rural Communities’ Livelihoods around Chilimo Forest, West Shewa, Ethiopia

Abstract

In recent decades there has been growing interest in the contribution of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for rural people livelihood improvement and poverty alleviation. However, as to the knowledge of the present researcher, limited studies have been done to analyze the role of non-timber forest products for rural livelihood diversification. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify main NTFPs used by local communities around Chilimo Forest. Furthermore, the study aimed to determine socioeconomic factors influencing collection of NTFPs in the study area. Multistage sampling techniques were used for the study. Data for the study was generated through household survey comprising of 313 respondents selected through simple random technique and substantiated by in-depth interviews of key informants, focus group discussion and field observation. Descriptive statistics and linear regression analysis were used to analyze and summarize data. The results revealed that, crop production, animal husbandry, non timber forest product and non-farm activities were the major livelihood strategies in the study area. On average, income from NTFPs accounted for 29.34% of total household income. The commonly collected NTFPs were firewood, charcoal, grasses, herbal medicine and honey. The study found that, households derived a significant portion of their income from the collection of NTFPs; however income derived from the collection of NTFPs significantly influenced with gender, family size and wealth status while age, education, marital status and distance from forest were found to have no significance association with income sourced from NTFPs. This study also revealed that, enrichment planting of the most utilized tree species, participatory forest management and setting of harvesting levels and cycles in Chilimo forest reduce impacts on plant species that are in high demand by local communities. The findings suggest that NTFPs play an important role in supporting livelihoods, and therefore provide an important safety net for households throughout the year particularly during periods of hardship. Therefore the current research would be useful in preparing an ecologically viable policy for the subsistence of forest dwellers and better management of the forest resources in Chilimo forest.Where; n = is the sample size to be estimated, N = is population size, e =is the level of precision (0.05) and N=population size. Using the above formula, the computed sample size was 313 respondents. An existing household list per village was used to select households' heads to be interviewed randomly (Mbuvi et al., 2010). Accordingly, a total of 313 households were randomly selected from the list of households in the study area. Data collectionData were collected through personal interviews using a pretested structured questionnaire and focus group discussions (Dey et al., 2017b(Dey et al., , 2017aRaj et al., 2018;Suleiman et al., 2017). Moreover, key informants were also

The Contribution of Pipper nigrum L. to the Livelihoods of the Main Value Chain Actors in Njombe-Penja Sub-Division of the Littoral Region of Cameroon

“…White pepper business contributed 40.7% to the overall income of producers in Njombe-Penja from January to December 2022. Similar results were obtained by Demie, [27] and suggests that NTFPs contribute significantly to household income and thus can act as a safety net during the period of hardship and other emergencies. This finding also implies that NTFPs constitutes an important component of the rural households' economy.…”

Contribution of forest products to rural household’s income and factor determining forest income in Masha district of Sheka zone, SWEPR, Ethiopia

“…These are firewood, coffee, honey, fencing wood, tree fern (Seseno), charcoal, split wood (Gejo), stringer (Mager), Cardamom (Aframomum corrorima), climber, timber (Tawula), split wood for house wall construction (Filit), mortar, plough, yoke, pestle and bamboo. All of the sample households are engaged in collection of forest products and it is similar to the earlier finding in the study area and Chilimo forest, Ethiopia (Mullatu, 2010;Demie, 2019). This engagement of communities in forest product collection is more than the findings of studies in Bench Maji zone and Yayo district of Ethiopia (Chanie andYirsaw, 2018, Asfaw andEtefa, 2017).…”

Non-Timber Forest Products: Diversity, Utilization, and Dependency in Fringe Areas of Jaldapara National Park in Indian Sub-Himalayan Region

“…It is reported that the more isolated and remotely located the area is, the higher is the contribution of NTFPs to noncash income [5]. The economic, livelihood, and ecological benefits of NTFPs can only be realized when their collectors are benefitted fully [5,12,13,17].…”

“…NTFPs provide natural insurance against hunger and malnutrition during scarcity and even during famines [5]. NTFPs are thus vital for the social development of the indigenous/forest fringe and rural communities [17]. In spite of the "right of ownership, i.e., access to collect, use and dispose of minor forest produce by the 'Forest Rights Act, 2006'" to the indigenous communities dependent on forest or forest dwellers, they still remain underprivileged and impoverished [18].…”