Willingness to pay for ecosystem benefits of Agroforestry driven green growth in Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper investigates the Willingness To Pay (WTP) for ecosystem benefits derivable from Agroforestry (AF) driven green growth practice in Ogun state, Nigeria. The environmental service functions of AF were valued. Multi-stage sampling procedure involving purposive and simple random sampling was adopted in deriving a sample size of 160 households from a sampling proportion of 65 % of the study area. The methodology involved descriptive statistics, contingent valuation method and the binary choice logit model. The mean WTP for AF ecosystem benefits is N 84.67/month. With a population of 1,295,648 people in the two zones considered, the total WTP/year is N1,316,430,193.92 and for the whole study area, it is N3,811,308,285.60. The log of bid offered had a negative and significant effect (p< 0.05) while income and contact with extension agents had positive and significant effects (p<0.10) on the likelihood of the bid acceptance in the WTP for the ecosystem benefits of AF. That the international community should share from the cost for the promotion of green growth through AF was highly accepted by 70 % of the respondents as they believed environmental benefits have no international boundary. There is therefore a need to put ecosystem services payment policy in place to sustain benefits derivable from AF systems. Dialogues that emphasize 70 % cost appropriation to the developed economies for green growth infrastructures that act as “sinks” in the developing countries to their industrial carbon emissions need to be fostered and protocols endorsed for green growth promotion. These will enhance the derivable ecosystem benefits of AF that transcends beyond international borders.