Impacts of smallholder tree plantation in Amhara Region of Ethiopia: The case of Lay Gayint and Fagta Locuma districts

Abstract

This study analyses the impacts of smallholder plantation on the households’ total cash income, modern agricultural input use, education and health care spending of 300 sampled households in Lay Gayint and Fagta Locuma districts of the Amhara Region, Ethiopia. A propensity score matching (PSM) analytical model has been used to examine the impacts of smallholder plantation on total cash income, improved agricultural input use, educational and health care expenditure. The PSM tool confirmed that, participation in to tree plantation had a significant impact on farm households total cash income, education and health expenditure outcome. However, it does not have a significant impact on the use of modern agricultural inputs. The findings of this study calls for the scale up of best practices of smallholder plantation in Amhara region and in Ethiopia at large. In addition, concerns have to be given in improving land productivity, educational level of farm households, and increasing market access and linkages, value addition of plantation products, expansion of infrastructures especially road and telecommunication networks in the rural parts to raise participation in plantation.