An Assessment on Socio-Economic Impacts of Smallholder Eucalyptus Tree Plantation in the case of Northwest Ethiopia

Abstract

The availability of forest products determines the possibilities for forest-based livelihood options. Plantation forest is a widespread economic activity in highland areas of Amhara regional state, owing primarily to degradation and limited access to natural forests. As a result, tree plantation becomes one of the rural livelihood options in the area. Given the increasing importance of smallholder plantation in highland areas of Amhara Regional States, therefore, the aim of this research was to evaluate the extent of smallholder plantation and its socio-economic impact. To address the above-mentioned research a sequential embedded mixed research designs where employed. These qualitative and quantitative data were collected from both primary and secondary data sources. Primary data were collected from 385 sample households determined based on Cochran sample size formula and selected via a three stage-multi-stage sampling method. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Smallholder eucalyptus plantation in the study area was discovered to be a common practice, and it is now part of the livelihood portfolio for meeting both household wood consumption and generating cash income. According to the PSM model's ATT results show that income from selling farm forest products certainly contributes more to household total income, farm expenditure per cultivated land, and education spending than non-planter households.  As a result, the government must strengthen plantation practices by prioritizing specific intervention areas while implementing measures to counteract the plantation's inequality-increasing effect through a variety of means, including progressive taxation.