Assessment of Farm Households’ Willingness to Participate in Reforestation Projects in Ghana: Implications for Policy
Jones Abrefa Danquah *
Department of Geography and Regional Planning, Faculty of Social Sciences, College of Humanities and Legal Studies, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana
John K. M. Kuwornu
Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, School of Agriculture, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Post Office Box LG 68, Legon-Accra, Ghana.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This study examines the socioeconomic factors that influence farmers’ willingness to accept monetary compensation to engage in tree planting and to evaluate realistic payment of incentives. Contingent Valuation method was employed to elicit bids levels of 200 farm households in Ghana. The empirical results of a Generalized Linear Model reveal that age of the household head, household size, education, perception to climate change, distance to the farmland, farm size, off-farm work and quantity of maize sold annually significantly influenced households’ decision to accept compensation to engage in tree planting activities. These results have implications for forest management in developing countries.
Keywords: Willingness to accept, tree planting, socioeconomic factors, ecosystem services