Contribution of Small-Scale Gum and Resin Commercialization to Local Livelihood and Rural Economic Development in the Drylands of Eastern Africa

Forests

Asmamaw Alemu Abtew²  Jürgen Pretzsch²  Laura Secco¹ 

[1] Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry (TESAF), University of Padova, Via dell’Universita` 16, Legnaro 35020, Italy; E-Mail:;Institute of International Forestry and Forest Products, Technische Universität Dresden, Pienner Str. Tharandt 7, 01737 Tharandt, Germany; E-Mail:

关键词: gums and resins;    livelihood;    poverty alleviation;    resource management regime;    Ethiopia and Sudan;   

DOI  :  10.3390/f5050952

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

This paper examines the extent to which the economic gains derived from gum and resin commercialization impact rural livelihood improvement under different resource management regimes in the drylands of Ethiopia and Sudan. Primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 240 randomly selected small-scale producers in four regions with gradients of resource management regimes. The survey was supplemented by secondary data, group discussions and key informant interviews. In the four regions, gum and resin income contributes to 14%–23% of the small-scale producers’ household income. Absolute income was positively correlated with resource management regime and commercialization level. It was higher from cultivated resources on private lands, followed by regulated access to wild resources. In open-access resources, the producers’ income was the lowest, although accessed by the poor and women. However, dependence on gum and resin was higher in open-access resource areas. Households’ socioeconomic characteristics, resource access, production and marketing variables determining income from gum and resin were identified and their variation across the cases is discussed. Overall, gum and resin commercialization in the study areas play a potential poverty alleviation role as a source of regular income, a safety net, and a means of helping producers move out of poverty.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.