Socioeconomic Indicators of Bamboo Use for Agroforestry Development in the Dry Semi-Deciduous Forest Zone of Ghana

Daniel S. Akoto, Manfred Denich, Samuel T. Partey, Oliver Frith, Michael Kwaku, Alex A. Mensah and Christian Borgemeister
Additional contact information
Daniel S. Akoto: Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, 53113 Bonn, Germany
Manfred Denich: Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, 53113 Bonn, Germany
Samuel T. Partey: International Bamboo and Rattan Organization (INBAR), PMB, Fumesua, 00233 Kumasi, Ghana
Oliver Frith: International Bamboo and Rattan Organization (INBAR), PMB, Fumesua, 00233 Kumasi, Ghana
Michael Kwaku: International Bamboo and Rattan Organization (INBAR), PMB, Fumesua, 00233 Kumasi, Ghana
Alex A. Mensah: Department of Southern Swedish Forest Research Center, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 23053 Alnarp, Sweden
Christian Borgemeister: Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, 53113 Bonn, Germany

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 7, 1-13

Abstract: Bamboo agroforestry is currently being promoted in Ghana as a viable land use option to reduce dependence on natural forest for wood fuels. To align the design and introduction of bamboo agroforestry to the needs of farmers, information on the determinants of bamboo acceptability and adoption is necessary. It is, therefore, the aim of this study to determine how socioeconomic factors, local farming practices and local knowledge on bamboo may influence its acceptability and adoption as a component of local farming systems. Data were collected from 200 farmers in the dry semi-deciduous forest zone of Ghana using semi-structured questionnaire interviews. The results show that farmers’ traditional knowledge on bamboo including its use for charcoal production and leaves for fodder are influential determinants of bamboo adoption. Among the demographic characteristics of farmers, age and gender are the most significant predictors. It is also evident that the regular practice of leaving trees on farmlands and type of cropping system may influence bamboo integration into traditional farming systems.

Keywords: adoption; land-use; deforestation; food security; renewable energy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/7/2324/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/7/2324/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:7:p:2324-:d:156305

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().