Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Illukpitiya, Prabodh M P

Titel

Agricultural efficiency and dependency on forest resources: An economic analysis of rural households and the conservation of natural forests in Sri Lanka

Erscheinungsjahr

2006

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Households living in the peripheral villages of natural forests are primarily dependent on agriculture and secondarily dependent on forest gatherings. High rates of forest dependency occur, in part, from the efforts of inefficient farmers securing subsistence. Technical efficiency of agriculture in forest peripheries is one aspect in which agricultural capacity and rural incomes can be enhanced. The study's main objective was to assess the technical efficiency of farming in forest margins and to determine how it affects dependency on forest resources by rural households. The findings of the study show that the mean technical efficiency in agricultural farming in forest peripheries ranges between 0.67--0.73. Factors such as age, education, experience, extension, and the nutrition status of the household head are mainly responsible for determining the level of technical efficiency. Further, study findings suggest factors such as agricultural efficiency, off-farm income, wealth, and the diversification index had negative and significant effects on dependency of rural households on forest resource extraction. It is estimated that on average, an increase in mean efficiency by 0.1 would increase agricultural revenue by 2,142--3,987 rupees/farm. Based on the threshold efficiency levels needed to arrest forest dependency, it is estimated that increasing agricultural income through increasing technical efficiency can be partly compensated for forest resource extraction. Compared to the measured efficiency levels, the efficiency gap needs to be addressed by policy measures range from 2-14 percent for non-timber forest products categories and 10-26 percent for the fuelwood category. Income diversification and off-farm employment may be other viable options to minimize forest dependency. Based on the economic value of forest products extracted from each forest reserve, it is estimated that increasing efficiency by 0.1 would reduce the opportunity cost of biodiversity conservation by 27, 46, 34, and 75 percent respectively in the forest areas under investigation. The study findings showed that intersectoral activities such as agriculture produce positive externalities in forest conservation. An efficiency improvement in rural agriculture can be partly compensated by higher opportunity costs of biodiversity conservation. Hence, improving agricultural efficiency in forest peripheries should be an integral part of forest conservation policy.