Although the causes of rural poverty are multifaceted, the general belief is that forests and tree resources constitute one of the few local assets for improving rural livelihoods. In Ghana however, the formal forest management strategies are skewed towards the satisfaction of the country's export needs and the interests of the urban population, much to the neglect of local community needs. The current tree tenure provisions do not recognize farmers' rights to naturally regenerated trees on farms. In addition, timber trees on farmland are usually extracted with little regard for the industrial and food crops of the farmers. Compensation, if paid at all, is ridiculously low.

In effect, there is no compelling reason for individuals or families to protect timber trees on farmland. But how can revenue from trees on farmland help reduce rural poverty (given the right policy).

This project seeks to provide inputs for addressing the weaknesses in policies that inform on-farm timber exploitation. It aims to examine the prospects of on-farm timber revenue in reducing rural poverty. The following issues will be addressed by the project:

• The policy and management requirements for making on-farm timber exploitation effective in poverty reduction
• The extent to which formal forest management strategies give diverse local farmers and families access to the benefits of timber revenue
• A formula for equitable on-farm timber revenue sharing
• Determining appropriate compensation to farmers and families on whose secure landholdings timber trees are felled
• Sustainable ways of on-farm timber exploitation with regard to industry and food crops
• The prospects for devolution of on-farm timber tree management to farmers

Objective
Study the prospects for on-farm timber revenue reducing poverty in farming communities.

Duration
2 years

Expected outputs
This project seeks to provide information on:

• the contributions made by on-farm timber revenue to farmers and rural economies,
• the policy and management requirements for making on-farm timber exploitation effective in reducing poverty,
• the extent to which formal forest management strategies give diverse local farmers and families access to the benefits of timber revenue,
• a formula for equitable on-farm timber revenue sharing
• the appropriate compensations to farmers and families on whose secure landholdings timber tress are felled,
• sustainable ways of on-farm timber exploitation with regard to industry and food crops
• the prospects for devolution of on-farm timber to farmers.
• One MSc Researcher will be trained.