FACTORS INFLUENCING THE UTILISATION OF NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS AMONG USERS IN KWARA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined the factors influencing the utilization of Non-Timber Forest Products among users in Kwara State, Nigeria. Data were gathered through the administration of a questionnaire to 251 randomly selected users from 9 purposively selected communities in the state. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and binomial logit regression. The result of the analysis showed that fish was ranked 1^st among the list of identified NTFPs while the level of utilization indicated a high mean score for fruits/ vegetables (2.8), fish (2.7), charcoal (2.7), locust bean (2.5), shea oil (2.4), fuelwood (2.4), kola nut (2.1) and honey (2.0).  Furthermore, the result of the binomial logit regression revealed that age, income, household size, utilization experience, knowledge of use, and NTFP cost significantly influenced the utilization of NTFPs in the State. The study recommends sustainable cultivation, collection, processing, and trading of NTFPs among users to make the products affordable to users in perpetuity.