YOUTH IN PLANTATION DEVELOPMENT: A POTENTIAL TOOL FOR SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT IN ONIGAMBARI FOREST RESERVE, OYO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study aims to investigate youth involvement in plantation development (PD) with a view to encouraging forest expansion and sustainability. Purposive sampling was used to select five communities around the reserve. Questionnaires were designed to gather information on the perception and level of participation of youths, socio-economic benefits, and challenges facing PD in the area. A total of 150 respondents were sampled. Data were collected from primary and secondary sources. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square, and logit. The results showed that the majority of the respondents were male (58.8%), the mean age was 30.9±7.28 years; 45.0% were between 25-34 years, 73.3% were married, 48.1% had no formal education while the major occupation was farming. The majority (95.5%) of the respondents were sensitized to PD, and 93.9% showed great interest and participated in PD. Timber exploitation, job opportunities, improvement of agricultural production, medicinal benefits, income generation, and provision of non-timber forest products, were dependent on the level of participation of youths in PD. These were significant at the 5% confidence limit. Major challenges facing PD are Lack of labor, finance, and level of awareness with odds-ratio of 43.73, 39.32, and 36.27 respectively. Youth involvement in PD is paramount to forest sustainability in the study area.