Determinants of market participation in non-timber forest products among the rural households of rain forest in Ondo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Market participation by the rural household on Non-Timber forest products has been found to be important as a means of breaking from the traditional semi-subsistence to fully commercialised production. This study examined the determinants of market participation in Non Timber Forest Products (NTFP)s among the rural households in rain forest zone of Ondo state, Nigeria. Data were collected with the aid of well structured questionnaire from one hundred and twenty-two households using multistage sampling technique. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, budgetary analysis, probit and tobit regressions analysis. The result showed that household size, income from other occupation, labour cost and durable input cost significantly affected the decision and level of participation in extraction and marketing of NTFPs in the area of study. It was also revealed from the study that kolanut and bitter kola were more profitable and efficient out of the seven NTFPs examined. It is recommended that forest management strategies and intervention design should be aimed at those people who settle inside or at the edge of the forest, because they are in a better position to continuously assess the existing situation of the forest and forest resources.

Keywords: Traditional semi-subsistence, Fully commercialised, Forest management, Budgetary analysis, Profitable