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Assessing the potentials of non timber forest products (NTFPs) as an attractive livelihood option for the people living in the forest adjacent communities in the Sekyere East district of Ghana
Okyere, Florence
Background: Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) are biological resources of plant (other than timber) and animal origin, that are harvested from the natural forests or farmlands for human use. The forest continuous to serve as a socio-economic safety net for rural communities in most parts of African, South Asia and some parts of Latin America. Over 40% of the world’s poor population live within or in close proximity to tropical forest areas. Communities living adjacent forest regions invariably depend on the ecology for their everyday food, fuel, and income. Despite the economic importance of NTFPs, there is no proper valuation of NTFPs and its contribution to livelihood and development in rural communities that rely primarily on these products for their income, subsistence, and employment. Objective: To assess the potentials of NTFPs as an attractive livelihood option for the people living in the forest communities in the Sekyere East district of the Ashanti region of Ghana. Method: A quantitative cross-sectional study design was employed to collect data from selected rural communities in the Sekyere East district. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select the 6 communities from the district and a systematic sampling approach used to select every 3rd house within the community. A total of 502 participants who are above the legal working age of 15years were recruited and administered with a structured questionnaire. Data analysis was done with the use of STATA and results were presented in tables and graphical representations. Results: A response rate of 98% was obtained from the administered questionnaire. Majority of the respondents were males, 67.73% and 32.27% being females. Males were more involved in NTFPs than females. Almost half of the respondents 48.21% involved in NTFPs collection were older persons between 50 to 59 years. About 84.66% of rural population depend solely on the forest for their daily livelihood. The average sales of NTFPs per market period was GH₵172.12. The majority of NTFPs collectors in the study earned between GH₵101 to 200 for each market day. An estimated amount of GH₵ 3,000 - 4,999 is earned by most respondent from the sale of NTFPs annually. The most common NTFPs harvested were game, firewood, mushroom, snail, leave wraps and honey. Conclusion: It has become evident that the majority of rural populations rely on NTFPs for their basic cash inflow and food requirement. Earnings from NTFPs sales contributes about half of overall household income and annual expenditure. Poverty reduction policies must increasingly incorporate NTFPs as an alternative source of income for deprived rural populations across different parts of the country.
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