Article Title: The importance of trees for the survival of the poor in Annangland, Nigeria

Maurice  Akpan Okoji,

Article Title: The importance of trees for the survival of the poor in Annangland, Nigeria

Abstract:

Okoji, M.A. 1998. The importance of trees for the survival of the poor in Annangland, Nigeria. Ann. Trop. Res. 20:1-16 Per capita income is low in Nigeria. In some rural areas it is below US $30.00. This level of income has forced the rural poor to rely on accessible natural resources for survival. To find out the role of trees in this regard, six villages in each of the six local government areas of Annangland were studied. Fifteen households were interviewed per village, using the participatory rapid appraisal method of data collection. It became clear that the rural poor in Annangland planted trees and protected self-sown trees for commercial, medicinal, social and agricultural reasons in addition to varying their diets. Some policy measures are considered for purposes of conserving resources upon which the poor depend and of revisiting relevant regulations and traditions in the interest of the rural poor.

References:

ALTIERI, M.A., F.J. TRUJILLO and J. FARRELL. 1987. Plant-insect interactions and soil fertility relations in agroforestry systems: Implications for the design of sustainable agroecosystems. In: Agroforestry: Realities, Possibilities and Potentials. (H.K. Gholz, ed.). Doldrecht, Netherlands, pp. 89-108.
ARNOLD, J.E.M. 1991. Tree Products in Agroecosystems: Economic and Policy Issues. IIED, London.
CAPLAN, A. 1975. Choice and Constraint in a Swahili Community: Property, Hierarchy and Cognatic Descent on the East African Coast. Oxford Univ. Press.
CHAMBERS, R., M. LEACH and C. CONROY. 1993. Trees as Savings and Security for the Rural Poor. IIED, London.
F.A.O. 1986. Case Studies of Farm Forestry and Wasteland Development in Guajarat, India. FAO, Rome.
KILBY, P. and C. LIEDHOLM. 1986. The role of nonfarm activities in rural economy, employment and enterprise policy analysis. Discussion Papers. Harvard Institute for International Development, Cambridge.
LEACH, M. 1990. Images of propriety: the reciprocal constitution of gender and resource use in the life of a Sierra Leonean forest village. Ph.D. Thesis, University of London.
OLAYIDE, S.O. 1980. Characteristics, problems and significance of farmers. In: Nigerian Small Farmers. (Olayide, S.O., Eweka, J.A. and Bello-Osagie, eds.). CARD, Ibadan.
SHAH, T. 1988. Gains from social forestry: lessons from West Bengal. IDS Discussion Paper.
THEIS, J. and H.M. GRADY. 1991. Participatory Rapid Appraisal. IIED, London.
UYANGA, J. 1980. The value children and child-bearing behaviour in rural Southeastern Nigeria. Rural Africana. 7:37-53.
WORLD BANK. 1995. African Development Indicators 1994-1995. Washington, D.C.
YOUNG, A. 1994. Agroforetry for Soil Conservation. CAB International, Wallingford