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<p>High dependency of the rural population on forest resources for their livelihood creates pressure on forest resources and causes land degradation and biodiversity loss. To tackle land degradation issues, obtain a high and sustained production level, conserve biodiversity, and improve livelihoods, agroforestry is the most efficient land management system. It provides a sustainable supply of tree products formerly harvested from the forest and thus, helps to reduce the pressure on forests. However, potential of agroforestry systems to meet forest product needs of local communities remains under-assessed, particularly in comparison to other available sources such as community forest. This study was conducted in the Mid-hills of Western Nepal where farmers have been growing native and exotic tree species on their farmland. Two research tools viz. focus group discussion and household survey were deployed for data collection. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while the Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used to statistically examine the differences in the supply of forest products collected from Agroforestry and Community Forests. Leaf litter, fodder, grass, and fuelwood were mostly demanded products. Household demand was fulfilled from agroforestry, community forest, wasteland, private forest, and markets. The Mann–Whitney test showed a significant difference in the average annual supply of leaf litter; grass (U = 7955.50 and <i>p</i> = &lt; 0.01), and fodder while insignificant in the case of the supply of fuelwood (U = 19,545 and <i>p</i> = &gt; 0.1) between community forest and agroforestry. The findings indicate that agroforestry can make a significant contribution to meeting diversified forest product demands of rural households through inclusion of tree and shrub species within agricultural landscapes, thereby decreasing reliance on communal resources and increasing household resilience. Consequently, the establishment of agroforestry may be a locally suitable and sustainable way to satisfy the demands for forest products by rural communities, especially where access to community forests is contested or limited.</p>

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Meeting forest product needs through agroforestry: insights from rural mid-hills of Western Nepal

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年5月29日

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  • Namrata Devi Khatri,
  • Suman Ghimire,
  • Suman K. C.

摘要

High dependency of the rural population on forest resources for their livelihood creates pressure on forest resources and causes land degradation and biodiversity loss. To tackle land degradation issues, obtain a high and sustained production level, conserve biodiversity, and improve livelihoods, agroforestry is the most efficient land management system. It provides a sustainable supply of tree products formerly harvested from the forest and thus, helps to reduce the pressure on forests. However, potential of agroforestry systems to meet forest product needs of local communities remains under-assessed, particularly in comparison to other available sources such as community forest. This study was conducted in the Mid-hills of Western Nepal where farmers have been growing native and exotic tree species on their farmland. Two research tools viz. focus group discussion and household survey were deployed for data collection. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while the Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used to statistically examine the differences in the supply of forest products collected from Agroforestry and Community Forests. Leaf litter, fodder, grass, and fuelwood were mostly demanded products. Household demand was fulfilled from agroforestry, community forest, wasteland, private forest, and markets. The Mann–Whitney test showed a significant difference in the average annual supply of leaf litter; grass (U = 7955.50 and p = < 0.01), and fodder while insignificant in the case of the supply of fuelwood (U = 19,545 and p = > 0.1) between community forest and agroforestry. The findings indicate that agroforestry can make a significant contribution to meeting diversified forest product demands of rural households through inclusion of tree and shrub species within agricultural landscapes, thereby decreasing reliance on communal resources and increasing household resilience. Consequently, the establishment of agroforestry may be a locally suitable and sustainable way to satisfy the demands for forest products by rural communities, especially where access to community forests is contested or limited.