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An analysis of farmers’ net incomes from underplanting development -case studies from Hunan and Guangxi provinces of China

University of British Columbia

Following the Collective Forest Tenure, the development of underplanted forest products (UFPs) is one of the forest-related policies intended to enhance the efficiency of forest land use, improve local farmers’ livelihoods, and at the same time protect forest resources. This study is aimed at understanding what might affect farmers’ incomes from UFPs, the difficulties and barriers farmers face in developing UFPs, and the influence of the UFP policy. To achieve this objective, one quantitative questionnaire study and two qualitative interview studies with local households and local forest authority directors were conducted in Jingzhou County, Hunan Province and in Sanjiang County, Guangxi Province in China. Education and market situation were important for UFP development. A lack of related knowledge and market information was the major barrier to cultivating UFPs. The influence of the policy to encourage UFPs was negligible. According to the participants, the main difference between households cultivating UFPs and those that were not was related to improved market access and information. Interviewees felt that cooperation and support from the government and from UFP processors would enhance their interests in the cultivation of UFPs.

Text

2014-01-07

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/45736

Forestry

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/