DRAWING EXPERIENCES ON PARTICIPATORY FORESTRY EXTENSION APPROACHES: IMPLICATION FOR FORESTRY EXTENSION IN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Forestry extension in Ethiopia has been mirrored in the agriculture extension package as one aspect commonly to address land and forest degradation. In contrast to the top-down approach, the participatory extension has given momentum to promote afforestation and rehabilitation of degraded land for transferring sufficient knowledge and addressing growers’ choices to raise tree species for various purposes. However, the research on forestry-related participatory technology development, adaption, and extension seems overlooked. The purpose of this review was to draw on the experiences of countries with low economic development on participatory forestry technologies development and extension. Hence, I reviewed good practices of various selected countries where forestry participatory extension approaches have been effective. The result of the review shows that participatory extension approaches like group training, demonstration trial, farmer's field school, and community-based extension approaches have been effective in forest management and livelihood development in the forest sector. Therefore, the review implies that key forestry stakeholders engaging in research, technology development and extension should prioritize participatory approaches to address both community needs and ecological aspects.