FOREST MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES AND PARTNERSHIP REQUIRED BY FARMERS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA

Abstract

This study identified forest management techniques required by farmers for Sustainable Development in North Central Nigeria. Four research questions and one null hypothesis were developed to guide the study. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The study was carried out in North Central States of Kogi, Benue and Nasarawa, Nigeria. The target population was 933 made up 512 registered farmers (foresters) and 421 extension agents. The sample for the study was 433 respondents purposively sampled to obtain 312 farmers and 121 extension agents were used for the study. A 35 items questionnaire titled “forest management techniques (FMT) was developed from literature and used for data collection. The instrument was face validated by three experts. Cronbach Alpha method was adopted to determine the internal consistency of the questionnaire items. Mean (x) was used to answer the research questions and t-test to test the hypothesis. Findings from the study revealed that all the 35 skill items were required by farmers for forest management in North Central Nigeria. It was recommended that the identified techniques be packaged into workshop training program for farmers/foresters in North Central Nigeria to enhance Sustainable Development.