Abstract
Bamboo agroforestry is currently being promoted in Ghana as a viable land use option to reduce dependence on natural forest for wood fuels. To align the design and introduction of bamboo agroforestry to the needs of farmers, information on the determinants of bamboo acceptability and adoption is necessary. It is, therefore, the aim of this study to determine how socioeconomic factors, local farming practices and local knowledge on bamboo may influence its acceptability and adoption as a component of local farming systems. Data were collected from 200 farmers in the dry semi-deciduous forest zone of Ghana using semi-structured questionnaire interviews. The results show that farmers’ traditional knowledge on bamboo including its use for charcoal production and leaves for fodder are influential determinants of bamboo adoption. Among the demographic characteristics of farmers, age and gender are the most significant predictors. It is also evident that the regular practice of leaving trees on farmlands and type of cropping system may influence bamboo integration into traditional farming systems.
Highlights
Deforestation emanating from excessive wood extraction for wood fuels continues to be a major agent of land degradation
The results show that gender and age of farmers can significantly predict the potential adoption of bamboo agroforestry
Within the ages of 31–45 (27%) are potential adopters whilst 24 (12%) are potential non-adopters. This age-influenced adoption trend could be attributed to the perception of young farmers; most of them see farming as a secondary occupation and use it to supplement their monetary income relative to older farmers whose major source of livelihood is farming and have a stronger likelihood to accept new farming technologies
Summary
Deforestation emanating from excessive wood extraction for wood fuels continues to be a major agent of land degradation. Due to development initiatives, such as the Bamboo and Rattan Development Programme (BARADEP), bamboo plantation establishment has increased in Ghana This notwithstanding, monoculture bamboo plantations on agricultural lands may impact adversely on food security unless integrated systems with arable crops and/or livestock are given due consideration. We modeled the interaction of explanatory variables, such as farmer characteristics, cropping systems, farming practices, bamboo ethnobotany, to predict the potential adoption of bamboo agroforestry in the DSFZ (Figure 1). These interactions facilitate farmer decision making processes and culminate in either adoption or non-adoption of technologies
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