Assortment of Farming Activities to Non Timber Forest Products for Substainable Livelihoods in Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The research was aimed at evaluating the assortment of farming activities to non-timber forest products for sustainable livelihoods in Mbano local government area of Imo State, Nigeria. This study was carried out in five communities of Mbano LGA of Imo State, Nigeria which were; Umuduru, Osu - Owere, Asu –Ana,Umuosu and Amausari as participation communities in assortment of farming activities to non timber forest products. Multistage random sampling was used to choose 219 respondents. Face-to-face interviews with the respondents generated primary data, which was obtained using structured questionnaires. The socio-economic profile of the sampled respondents was determined using descriptive methods. The data obtained from objective I, III and IV was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as (frequency distribution, percentage mean) objective II was achieved using livelihood status index. The outcome of the research appeared that most of the respondents were active with mean age of 30 years while the average family size was 11. The findings of the study showed that 80.4% were married and more than half of the respondents had no formal education. However, respondents in the study area had moderate livelihood for assortment from farming activities to non-timber forest product. Also, fuelwood was ranked highest for utilization amongst forest products utilized in the study area. The challenges faced by the respondents in the study area ranges from restriction from the community, government and transportation problem. It is therefore recommended that awareness should be advocated to farming family for diversifying their means of livelihood for sustainable income and the standard of their wellbeing.