ABSTRACTThis study evaluated the impact of the Forestry-II Project on farmers‟ livelihoods in Kano State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to describe the socio-economic characteristics of the project‟s target farmers, assess the farmers attitude towards farm forestry, evaluate the farmers stage of adoption of the project‟s innovations, evaluate the factors influencing adoption of the project‟s innovations, evaluate the impact of the innovations on the farmers livelihoods and determine the constraints that affected the farmers involvement in the project‟s activities in the study area. In view of absence of the project‟s baseline data, a with-and-without approach to impact evaluation was adopted, whereby villages reached (participants) were compared with similar villages not reached (non participants) by the project. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 24 villages across the state, as the study population. Data were collected from 101 participants and 100 non-participants, with help of interview schedules and observation, giving a sample size of 201, equivalent to 20% of the study population. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, two-sample t-test, two-sample Chi-square test, and the Ordinal Logit Regression Analysis. The average age (45yrs) and maximum number of dependents (35) of the two groups were similar; while their maximum ages (65yrs & 56yrs) and average farming experiences (26yrs & 23yrs) differ. Both were predominantly male (99.0 % & 100.0%), married (99.0 % & 98.0 %), live on farming (86.0% & 92.0%) and had a positive attitude towards farm forestry. However, the participants had more access to extension agents (43% & 25%) and larger farms (2.9Ha & 2.1Ha) respectively. The respondents‟ stages of adoption of the project‟s innovations vary. Majority (47%) of the participants were at the adoption stage, while most (62%) of the non-participants lagged at the awareness and interest stages, showing a significant, X2 (3, N=201) = 25.356, p<0.05, relationship between participation in the project and the respondents stages of adoption. The respondents adopted boundary plantings, private and communal woodlots, and scattered farm plantings representing 45% of the innovations recommended by the project. The main reason inspiring adoption was „relative advantage of the innovation‟; while the socio-economic/institutional factors influencing adoption were found to be: cooking fuel, years of schooling, age, farm size, land tenure, herd size and primary livelihood source. Livelihood impact of farm forestry was greater for the project‟s participants than the non-participants. Increases in livelihoods achieved by the two groups averaged 49.00 and 29.60 respectively. Showing the project‟s participants achieved significantly higher increases in livelihoods than the non-participants (t=4.596, tcv=2.042, df=30, α=.05). Therefore the Project has significantly increased the livelihoods of its target farmers. It is also likely that the project has achieved its objective of increasing soil stability and the supply of fuelwood and poles in the study area. The respondents‟ feelings about-the-project revealed their priorities, fears, challenges and hopes towards this and future similar projects. They preferred orchards and disliked the long gestation of trees. The respondents mentioned „low participation‟ among other constraints which affected their involvement in the project; and recommended the provision of „competent extension agents‟ among other solutions to the constraints. It is concluded that the Forestry-II Project has improved the livelihoods of its target farmers in the study area. This study has narrowed the existing knowledge-gap on the research problem and addressed several key questions related to it. It is recommended, among other things, that the State‟s Government should consider the priorities and concerns of the farmers in designing/implementing future similar projects
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