Contribution of Non-Timber Forest Products livelihood strategies to rural development in drylands of Sudan: Potentials and failures

Contribution of Small-Scale Gum and Resin Commercialization to Local Livelihood and Rural Economic Development in the Drylands of Eastern Africa

“…Similar findings were reported in Sub-Saharan Africa on the factors determining the contribution of NTFPs to the livelihood strategies of rural communities [51,52]. The higher the income from gum and resins collected in one lump sum, the higher the probability that it is used for productive assets and capital accumulation.…”

“…On the other hand, the reinvestment of the extra income in productive assets and accumulating capital indicate the poverty reduction role of gum and resin production in the study areas. This finding concurs with that of Adam et al [51], who reported the poverty mitigation and reduction role of commercial NTFPs in Sudan. Figure 5.…”

Landscape diversity and associated coping strategies during food shortage periods: evidence from the Sudano-Sahelian region of Burkina Faso

“…For instance, in Mulanje district in Malawi, Fisher et al (2010) found that 25 % of the rural population sold non-timber forest products to buy food in the hungry period. In the semiarid area of Sudan, 62 % of collectors spent their incomes from Adonsonia digitata (baobab) fruits on food, 100 % spent their incomes from Ziziphus spina-christi and from Balanites aegyptiaca on food (Adam et al 2013). In the dry woodlands of Borona, southern Ethiopia, the sale of gums and resins in food shortage periods made a significant contribution to household income (for purchase of food items) (Worku et al 2011).…”

Strengthening the resiliency of dryland forest-based livelihoods in Ethiopia and South Sudan: A review of literature on the interaction between dryland forests, livelihoods and forest governance

“…Additionally, many rural residents sell forest products in formal and informal markets to obtain cash income (Shackleton et al 2007;Flintan et al 2013). For many rural inhabitants, these sales provide "important buffer and insurance roles as the households struggle to maintain vulnerable livelihoods at the margins of survival" (Adam et al 2013). …”

“…Evidence suggests that NTFPs are particularly important for "reducing vulnerability, ensuring food security, in providing cash income to some of the poorest sectors of society, and in contributing more generally to improved rural welfare, livelihood security and diversification" (Shackleton and Gumbo 2010, 76). In some contexts, high-value NTFPs have the potential to generate higher revenues than timber and may lead to rural development (Adam et al 2013). However, because much trading of NTFPs in Africa occurs in informal markets, the full contribution of forests to rural household and national economies Dry forests and woodlands are the dominant vegetation type in sub-Saharan Africa, covering over 17.3 million km 2 in a total of 31 countries (Chidumayo and Marunda 2010).…”