Abstract
The development of woodlots as an additional source of livelihood and as a land management option for small-scale farmers is a challenging issue in the cereal-based subsistence farming systems of north-western Ethiopia. There is a need to understand why and which factors determine the decisions of small-scale farmers to grow short-rotation woodlots on their land. Data used in this study were collected from a survey of 200 randomly selected households in the region. A Tobit regression model was used to determine predictor variables for farmers’ decisions to allocate land to planting Acacia decurrens (J.C. Wendl.) Willd. and at what density trees are planted on the respective plots. The most important motivations for planting A. decurrens were income, soil fertility management, and soil and water conservation. Having a male head of household, long distance to markets and plots being on marginal land, among other factors, increased the allocation of land to A. decurrens woodlots. Having a male head of household, access to credit and plots being on marginal land, among other factors, increased tree planting density. Age had a negative effect on both allocation of land to woodlots and tree density, whereas farm size had an inverted U-shaped relationship with both decisions. These results suggest that wider expansion of A. decurrens-based plantation systems could be achieved through improving extension, credit access and road infrastructure to connect small-scale farmers to markets and finance.
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Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to Anteneh Wubet, Getachew Dagnew and Fentahun Ferede for their field assistance, and to the farmers for their willingness to provide data. We are also thankful to the International Platform for Dryland Research and Education (IPDRE) of Tottori University for offering an overseas travel grant, and to the Arid Land Research Center for providing an appropriate research environment for the principal author. This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP25257417.
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Nigussie, Z., Tsunekawa, A., Haregeweyn, N. et al. Factors Affecting Small-Scale Farmers’ Land Allocation and Tree Density Decisions in an Acacia decurrens-Based taungya System in Fagita Lekoma District, North-Western Ethiopia. Small-scale Forestry 16, 219–233 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-016-9352-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-016-9352-z