Effects of socio-economic household characteristics on traditional knowledge and usage of wild yams and medicinal plants in the Mahafaly region of south-western Madagascar.

Jessica N Andriamparany,Katja Brinkmann,Andreas Buerkert,Vololoniaina Jeannoda

doi:10.1186/1746-4269-10-82

Abstract

BackgroundRural households in the Mahafaly region of semi-arid SW-Madagascar strongly depend on the exploitation of natural resources for their basic needs and income regeneration. An overuse of such resources threatens the natural environment and people’s livelihood. Our study focuses on the diversity and use of wild yams and medicinal plants.MethodsWe hypothesized that knowledge on the use of these resources highly depends on farmers’ socio-economic household characteristics. To test this hypothesis, an ethnobotanical survey was conducted based on semi-structured interviews recording socio-economic base data and information on local knowledge of medicinal and wild yam species. This was followed by field inventories compiling plant material for botanical identification.ResultsSix species of wild yam and a total of 214 medicinal plants from 68 families and 163 genera were identified. Cluster and discriminant analysis yielded two groups of households with different wealth status characterized by differences in livestock numbers, off-farm activities, agricultural land and harvests. A generalized linear model highlighted that economic factors significantly affect the collection of wild yams, whereas the use of medicinal plants depends to a higher degree on socio-cultural factors.ConclusionsWild yams play an important role in local food security in the Mahafaly region, especially for poor farmers, and medicinal plants are a primary source of health care for the majority of local people. Our results indicate the influence of socio-economic household characteristics on the use of forest products and its intensity, which should be considered in future management plans for local and regional forest conservation.

Highlights

Rural households in the Mahafaly region of semi-arid SW-Madagascar strongly depend on the exploitation of natural resources for their basic needs and income regeneration
Collection of forest products provides an important supplementary source of income [8], and an overuse of such resources threatens people’s livelihood. Among these forest products, the collection of wild yam (Dioscorea spp.) species and medicinal plants were identified as important for the local population [8,9], as they contribute to the well-being of rural households in terms of direct use, human nutrition and income generation
Our study focused only on medicinal plants and wild yams as forest products, the rate of change in social and economic attributes of rural households is likely proportional to the rate of change in resource use [73]

Summary

Introduction

Rural households in the Mahafaly region of semi-arid SW-Madagascar strongly depend on the exploitation of natural resources for their basic needs and income regeneration. Methods: We hypothesized that knowledge on the use of these resources highly depends on farmers’ socio-economic household characteristics To test this hypothesis, an ethnobotanical survey was conducted based on semi-structured interviews recording socio-economic base data and information on local knowledge of medicinal and wild yam species. Collection of forest products provides an important supplementary source of income [8], and an overuse of such resources threatens people’s livelihood Among these forest products, the collection of wild yam (Dioscorea spp.) species and medicinal plants were identified as important for the local population [8,9], as they contribute to the well-being of rural households in terms of direct use, human nutrition and income generation

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion