Abstract:
Examining the household’s dependence on non-timber forest products
(NTFPs) and analyzing their determinants has significance for policy
decisions. Therefore, this study examines the contribution of NTFPs to
rural livelihoods, its potential in poverty alleviation, and socioeconomic
drivers of households’ collection of NTFPs. The study is based on primary
data collected by using a structured questionnaire survey of 450 randomly
selected households in Metema and Quara districts of Amhara
region, Ethiopia along with key informant interviews, focus group discussion
with residents, and from government offices. We adopted an
income accounting model for apportioning components of total income
for finding income from NTFPs and applied the Tobit regression model
for our analysis and found that households are considerably dependent
on NTFPs. Income from NTFPs accounts for 23.1% of the total household
income. However, the level and pattern of reliance on these forest
products vary across different socioeconomic groups. Income from
NTFPs also helps 20% of the households to remain above the poverty
line. Moreover, the study shows that age, household size, landholding,
cooperative membership, per capita income, and access to extension
service influence households’ dependence on NTFPs. Thus, we suggest
that any policy intervention in dry forest areas should be planned without
destructing the forest ecosystem
