Gross Margin Analysis of Trade in Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) in Ogun State, Nigeria

摘要

There is an increasing rate of deforestation and what are left in the forests are the NTFPs which have increasingly caught the attention of more people because of their earnings from it. This study examined gross margin analysis of trade in non-timber forest-products among respondents in Ogun State. A multistage Sampling technique was used in sample selection. Structured questionnaires were used to obtain cross sectional data on the socio-economic characteristics, the different types of NTFPs in the study area, and the returns from NTFPs trade to households in the study area. The study revealed that the level of literacy is high (67.96) and there are more women in the trading activities (73.79 %) than men. The predominant age group was in the range of 31-40 years and they were mostly married (96.11 %). Similarly, snail, mushroom and bush meat had highest average gross margin returns to household in the study area with ?21, 700 per month followed by bamboo with ?17,000 per month. The Benefit Cost Ratio, Gross Ratio, Rate of Returns on Investments, and Expenses Structure Ratio were 3.23, 0.31, 2.30, 0.03 and 1.12, 0.89, 0.22, 0.03 respectively. On the basis of these findings, NTFPs can be said to be highly profitable as indicated by these indicators. It is a good point of entry into business for young school leavers and holds good prospect as alternative income generation and poverty alleviation. Government should therefore maximize the NTFP dealer production potential by making more commitment to ensuring access to productive assets.