Socioeconomic determinants of cultivation of non-wood forest products in southern Nigeria

Abstract

Cultivation of non-wood forest products (NWFP), although a veritable means of ecosystem and biodiversity conservation and improved natural resource management, has not been sustained in southern Nigeria (Nigeria's major forest region) notwithstanding the unprecedented rate of depletion of the resource in the wild. For example, efforts in the past to support cultivation of NWFP in southern Nigeria under a USAID funded Cross River State forestry project, especially through nursery establishment for some rural communities, was not sustained as the initiative was abandoned by the participants. Hence to promote cultivation of NWFP, this study ascertained socioeconomic factors that influence cultivation of NWFPs. Multi stage sampling technique was used in selection of respondents (households) from two States: Cross River and Enugu States of southern Nigeria. A sample size of 400 households was used for the study. Probit and multinomial logistic regressions were used in estimating NWFP cultivation. The findings show that cultivation of NWFP was positively determined by gender, farming occupation (especially of women farmers) distance to forests where NWFP was collected, proportion of household food from NWFP, and medium wealth category. Age had a negative effect on cultivation until the age of 46 after which the effect became positive. In addition, household size, gender and farming occupation of household heads positively influenced cultivation of NWFP in plantations as against home gardens while gender and farming occupation had positive effect on cultivation of some stands of NWFP as against home gardens. Incorporating the findings of this study in future intervention project for NWFP cultivation will help sustain the initiative.

Willingness to Pay (WTP) for an Improved Environmental Quality in Ebonyi State, Nigeria

“…This method was used by [18], whose study was on WTP for environmental services from trees on communal land in Zimbabwe; In forestry issues as by [19], in the valuation of community forests in Ethiopia; [20], to estimate WTP for community conservation of non-wood forest products in Enugu and cross river states; And [21], to estimate the mean WTP for irrigation water in lower Anambra and lower Benue States. There are three common methods for this, which are: the open ended questioning, interactive bidding, and the dichotomous choice or referendum, which is the most accepted method.…”

Can non-wood forest products be used in promoting household food security?: Evidence from savannah and rain forest regions of Southern Nigeria

“…The need for wealth ranking was to ascertain the influence of wealth on utilization of NWFPs. The procedure for wealth ranking was adapted from Chukwuone (2009) and presented in Table 2.…”

Supplying the wildlife trade as a livelihood strategy in a biodiversity hotspot

“…A thorough understanding of the social and economic dimensions of wildlife trade supply chains allows evaluation of who will be affected (and by how much) by policy and management interventions aiming to regulate trade, and informs conservation interventions. Additionally, socioeconomic characteristics of target communities have been shown to impact the success of conservation projects (Chukwuone 2009). Although previous studies have sought to understand socioeconomic determinants of bushmeat trade and wild food consumption in rural areas (Fa et al 2002, de Merode et al 2004, Coad et al 2010, Kümpel et al 2010, SchulteHerbruggen et al 2013, few have explored livelihoods associated with commercial supply of wildlife in exporting countries to supply the exotic pet trade (but see Gordon and Ayiemba 2003, Rabemananjara et al 2008, Jepson et al 2011), particularly at the harvesting stage where people arguably have the most direct impact on natural resources.…”