ABSTRACT

Studies were conducted to evaluate the economic impacts of Pentadethra macrophylla, Monodora myristica and Gnetum africanum on rural areas of Imo State. The objectives were to determine the level of occurrence of the species in three land-use types (i.e. natural forests, farm lands and home gardens); ascertain the extent of usage; examine their contributions; analyze the household socio-economic and institutional factors affecting the production and commercialization; and ascertain measures adopted to conserve and develop primary sources of non-timber forest products (NTFPs). The research methods included visits and the use of semistructured questionnaire. Nine hundred copies of the questionnaire were administered on rural households using multi-stage sampling procedure. The research also involved field inventories and measurements of the selected NTFPs using systematic sampling technique. Data were analyzed using STATISTICA (software package). The statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance, Z-test and Foster-Greer-Thorbecke metric. The results showed that P. macrophylla was more prevalent in the natural forests in Owerri Zone than farm lands and home gardens. Height and diameter growths were also best in the natural forests. In Orlu and Okigwe Zones, the species occurrences were highest in home gardens. M. myristica occurrence in natural forests was highest in Owerri Zone and least in Orlu Zone. In home gardens, its occurrence was highest in Okigwe Zone and least in Orlu Zone. The height and diameter growths were highest in Owerri Zone. There were significant differences in P. macrophylla occurrences among the three land-use types (P<0.05). M. myristica occurrences significantly differed between natural forest and home gardens (P<0.05). Nevertheless, there were no significant differences in the occurrences among the zones. P.entadethra macrophylla and M. myristica consumptions were highest in Okigwe and least in Orlu, while that of G. africanum was highest in Orlu Zone and least in Okigwe Zone. There were significant differences in mean annual incomes of those that traded in the NTFPs and those that did not, and those who traded in the NTFPs recorded a higher mean annual income. There were significant differences in P. macrophylla mean seed and fuel-wood prices/kg among the zones. M. myristica mean seed prices/kg significantly differred among the zones (P<0.05). However, the mean fuelwood prices/kg did not significantly differ among the zones. There were significant differences in mean G. africanum prices/kg among the zones (P<0.05). The respondent ages ranged between 18 and 65 years with a mean of 47.3±8.6 years, while the household sizes ranged between 1 and 13 with a mean of 6±2 persons. The poverty severity in Owerri, Orlu and Okigwe Zones were 7%, 9% and 12%, respectively. For the rural households to live a moderately poor life, additional N 10,972.12, N 11,476.83'and N 14,881.08/year will be required, respectively. The socio-economic and institutional factors affecting the development and commercialization of the NTFPs were lack of free access to forest resources, fear of arrest by forest guards, lack of incentives, market uncertainty, inadequate development skills among others. Majority of the respondents expressed their willingness to ensure sustainability of the aforementioned NTFPs.