Agricultural Systems 117 (2013) 9097

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Agricultural Systems
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/agsy

Contribution of Non-Timber Forest Products livelihood strategies to rural

development in drylands of Sudan: Potentials and failures
Yahia Omar Adam a,b, Jrgen Pretzsch b, Davide Pettenella c,
a

Department of Forest Management, Faculty of Forestry, University of Khartoum, Shambat Campus, Box 32, Code 13314, Khartoum North, Sudan
Institute of International Forestry and Forest Products, Technical University of Dresden, Cotta Bau, Pienner Str. 7, 01737 Tharandt, Germany
c
Dipartimento Territorio e Sistemi Agro-Forestali, Universit di Padova, 16, 35020 Legnaro (PD), Italy
b

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 17 February 2012
Received in revised form 16 September 2012
Accepted 20 December 2012
Available online 30 January 2013
Keywords:
NTFPs
Livelihood strategies
Income generation
Expenditure
Capital accumulation
Sudan

a b s t r a c t
In recent decades there has been growing interest in the contribution of Non-Timber Forest Products
(NTFPs) livelihood strategies to rural development and poverty alleviation. However, the potential of
NTFPs to contribute to development remained limited and open to doubt. The study objectives were
to: (i) analyze the role of NTFPs livelihood strategies in rural development in order to explain their potentials and failures; and (ii) identify and analyze the factors inuencing the contribution of NTFPs livelihood
strategies to household income. The study was carried out analyzing three NTFPs in Rashad locality in the
Nuba Mountains, Sudan in 20082009. The data were collected through interviews, direct observations
and market surveys. Purposive sampling technique was applied to select 221 and 62 collector and trader
households, respectively. The results revealed that Adansonia digitata fruit sale represents a subsistence
strategy for some sampled households and accumulative strategy for others, while Ziziphus spina-christi
and Balanites aegyptiaca fruits sale is a subsistence strategy for all the surveyed households. The study
results also showed that the income from selling the fruits was positively and negatively inuenced by
different external and internal factors. The study concluded that any assumption regarding the potential
of NTFPs to positively affect rural development depends on their role in an accumulative strategy that
lifts people out of poverty. Institutional, technical and nancial supports are necessary to inuence the
future direction of the NTFP contribution toward accumulative strategy.
2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The term Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) covers all tangible products of forest origin, except wood, and includes a wide
range, such as rattan, resins, essential oils, latex, nuts, species,
fruits, seeds, leaves, game, sh, birds, eggs and honey (Ros-Tonen
et al., 1995).
In the late 1980s, inuential studies, such as the one by Peters
et al. (1989), suggested that harvesting NTFPs in tropical forests
could generate higher revenues than timber. In the following years,
interest in NTFPs grew spectacularly, based on three propositions:
(a) NTFPs are important for local livelihoods and NTFP trade offers
opportunities for development; (b) NTFP extraction is less environmentally destructive than logging or agriculture; and (c) increasing
the value of NTFPs will add value to standing forest and thus provide an incentive to maintain the forest (Arnold and Ruiz Perez,
2001). The idea that production and trade in NTFPs could lead to

Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 049 827 2741; fax: +39 049 827 2772.
E-mail addresses: gumaa1973@hotmail.com (Y.O. Adam), pretzsch@forst.tudresden.de (J. Pretzsch), davide.pettenella@unipd.it (D. Pettenella).
0308-521X/$ - see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2012.12.008

rural development was picked up by non-government organizations, donors and development agencies.
A lot of studies focused on NTFP economy (e.g. Neumann and
Hirsch, 2000; Arnold and Ruiz Perez, 2001; Ros-Tonen and Wiersum, 2005). Most of these tempered expectations (Lawrence,
2003). Some commentators criticized the economics of the Peters
et al. (1989) study (e.g. Neumann and Hirsch, 2000; Sheil and
Wunder, 2002). Other studies found that NTFP values were much
more modest (e.g. Godoy et al., 2000; Peters et al., 1989; Ros-Tonen
and Wiersum, 2005). Even so, enthusiasm has continued to grow in
line with the growing attention from the international community
on the potential of markets to contribute to development objectives (Scherr et al., 2003; Ferrand et al., 2004).
Researchers at the Center for International Forestry Research
(CIFOR) in Indonesia have classied NTFP case studies, using multivariate statistical approaches. The method aims at simplifying the
diversity of NTFP case studies by identifying typologies or groups
of case studies according to common characteristics that often do
not say much about the development potential because each group
is characterized by the role of NTFPs in total household income
without further details on how the household uses the related
income (e.g. Ruiz Perez et al., 2004; Belcher et al., 2005) These

Y.O. Adam et al. / Agricultural Systems 117 (2013) 9097

relevant issues will be dealt with in more detail in Section 4.2

where the typologies will be compared with the results from our
ndings.
Despite the grouping of NTFP case studies, however, peoples
understanding of the role and potential of NTFPs to contribute to
nancial capital accumulation in order to lift rural households out
of poverty remains limited and it is open to doubt whether NTFPs
make a contribution to development. Most research efforts have
been case studies, with little potential to make generalizations
(Marshal et al., 2003; Belcher et al., 2005; Ros-Tonen and Wiersum,
2005). In addition, studies revealed that the NTFP trade is complex
and dynamic, inuenced by a suite of interrelated factors (de Beer
and McDermott, 1996; Neumann and Hirsch, 2000; Arnold, 2002;
Kusters and Belcher, 2004; Alexiades and Shanley, 2004; Sunderland and Ndoye, 2004). These factors are related to markets (Neumann and Hirsch, 2000; Arnold, 2002; Newton et al., 2006), the
political environment in which the products are traded (Nygren
et al., 2006), characteristics of the primary resource (Neumann
and Hirsch, 2000) and participants (Newton et al., 2006). However,
these factors were not analyzed in relation to the NTFP contribution
to development. An economic valuation of the NTFPs alone is insufcient, as it does not take into account factors that determine the
context of the market chain and inuence the actual value of the
NTFPs. Thus, the overall aim of this case study is to improve the
understanding of NTFP potential in rural development and the factors that inuence the NTFP role in the semi-arid lands of Sudan.
Sudanese and international organization, under the umbrella of
the Sub-Saharan African Food Tree Species Forest Genetic Resources
(SAFORGEN) programme (Eyog-Matig et al., 2002) and with the
coordination of Biodiversity International, have been working in
the recent past for the conservation and sustainable use of priority
food tree species in Sub-Saharan Africa, providing useful information related to the environmental and social context of NTFP production in semi-arid lands of Sudan. Taking into consideration the
background information provided by the SAFORGEN programme
and by few other studies on the NTFP economy in the study area
(Babiker et al., 1985; Robinson, 2006; Goenster et al., 2011) the specic research objectives of this paper are to: (i) analyze the role of
NTFP livelihood strategies in rural development (poverty alleviation) in order to explain their potentials and failures; and (ii) identify and analyze the factors inuencing the contribution of NTFP
livelihood strategies to household income.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Study area
The study was conducted in the Rashad locality of Nuba Mountains in the north-western part of the dry land Savanna Zone in
South Kordofan State. The study area lies between latitudes 10
and 13 N and longitudes 29 and 33 E.
The study area covers a total of 7872 km2 with a population of
241,046. The inhabitants are indigenous Nuba people and other
ethnic groups, e.g. Baggara, Bargu, Barnu, and Fellata (UNDP,
2003). There are three main land users groups: agriculturalists
and minor livestock holders, pastoralists, and town/urban groups
(NMPACT, 2002). The key determinants of household wealth and
main source of income for agriculturalists and pastoralists are
crops and livestock. Household income is also derived from paid labor and off-farm activities and local-level NTFP trade. In economic
terms, levels of food and cash incomes are determined by access to
the plains for farming, grazing and collecting wild products, and
access to markets for both goods and labor.
The climate is tropical semi-arid. Annual rainfall ranges from
400 to 676 mm; the rainy season extends from June to October.

91

The main land uses in the study area are traditional agriculture,
animal husbandry and forestry.
There were a number of reasons for selecting the study area:
 The area has been affected by civil war and ethnic tensions that
have resulted in widespread poverty.
 It is still well-endowed with NTFPs offering a variety of opportunities for trading.
 It lies within the Savanna region which constitutes the largest
proportion of Sudan occupied by poor rural communities.
 There are limited livelihood options and employment opportunities, suggesting that alternative cash income generating
options may be important.
2.2. Non-Timber Forest Products selection
Three NTFPs (Adansonia digitata, Ziziphus spina-christi and Balanites aegyptiaca) all important as edible fruits were selected in the
study area using the following steps:
 First, all NTFPs in the local markets visited in the study area
were recorded (14 NTFPs).
 Second, local traders were asked for the names of villages where
collection of the recorded NTFPs is concentrated (nine villages).
 Third, 10 households were selected in each village to rank the
14 NTFPs based on their economic importance for rural households in the village.
 Finally, the three top-ranked NTFPs were selected and ranks
were compared among villages to nd out the most frequent
top three NTFPs (85 of 90 households ranked A. digitata, Z.
spina-christi and B. aegyptiaca as the top three in the nine
villages).
2.3. Data collection and analysis
One sampling strategy purposive sampling was used to select 221 household collectors (76 for A. digitata, 70 for Z. spinachristi and 65 for B. aegyptiaca) and 62 household traders (27 for
A. digitata, 27 for Z. spina-christi and 8 for B. aegyptiaca). The participants in the study include members of local households who were
in the village or in the local markets during the survey. There were
different collectors and traders for each studied fruit. The participants were selected to permit the collection of more in-depth
and reliable data (Wollenberg, 2000). The households were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The data from the questionnaire were augmented with additional qualitative data by
pursuing, through conversation, any interesting issues that
emerged. Annual quantities of fruits collected were recorded and
the mean value by each collector and trader was calculated. The
gross annual cash income from local-level trade was obtained by
multiplying the amount of fruit sold annually by the mean selling
price, obtained from the local markets and from interviews. Income from commercial farming was computed by multiplying
the crop yields by their farm gate prices. Income from subsistence
crops was computed by multiplying crop yields by local market
prices. Labor earnings from local wage employment were calculated by multiplying the number of days worked by the wage rate.
Information about employment was collected from individual
household members, in terms of the number of hours worked
per day and number of days worked during each operation.
Employment was expressed in terms of person-days, where each
person-day was equivalent to 8 h of work. The household was used
as the basic unit of analysis. Quantitative data from the interview
results were analyzed statistically. The cash income from the sales
of fruits and other sources was averaged and converted to US$
using the conversion rate for the Sudanese Pound at the time of

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the survey (March 2009). The household expenditures and the percentage of cash income from fruit sales in each type of expenditure
were estimated.
Quantitative data were processed and analyzed by using SPSS.
First, data from questionnaires were coded and then entered into
the data sheet for quantitative analysis. After being entered, the
data were veried by checking the categories of all variables for
correction. The next step was to run SPSS to analyze the data.
Two statistical analyses were employed, namely:
 Descriptive statistics were used to describe the cash income
(US$) from different sectors (e.g. selected NTFPs, agriculture,
animal production, wage labor, etc.), and total household cash
income (US$). To allow for comparative analysis, data relating
to the quantities of NTFPs collected (in kg) and sold (kg), and
gross and net cash incomes (US$), costs (US$), and cash income
(US$) from other sources were converted to annual gures. The
results are presented using tables, charts, and frequency
distribution.
 Multiple regression analysis was applied to: (a) identify the factors that affect the annual net cash income derived from the
selected NTFPs local-level trade and, (b) analyze the type, direction and value of the changes which were demonstrated by the
coefcient of regression. The qualitative data obtained through
household/individual interviews and direct observations were
summarized to describe and analyze the level of organization
and market and resource access.
3. Results
3.1. Contribution of the selected NTFPs to total annual household
income
The contribution of A. digitata fruit sales to total annual household cash income was 51% (Fig. 1, where the relative values are
compared), while the share of Z. spina-christi and B. aegyptiaca
fruits was much lower (42% and 26% respectively).
3.2. Household expenditure from NTFP sale
Fig. 2 shows that 62%, 13%, 8% and 17% of the collector households interviewed spent cash income from A. digitata fruit sales

Fig. 1. Annual average cash income (US$) contribution by household economic

strategy for the selected fruits in the 20082009 seasons (no. of interviews: 76 for A.
digitata; 70 for Z. spina-christi; 65 for B. aegyptiaca). Source: Our eld survey (2008
2009).

on food, education, health care and for capital accumulation,

respectively while A. digitata trader households spent the income
on food (15%), education (3%), health care (6%), and for capital
accumulation (76%).
Fig. 2 also elucidates that the collector households spent all
their returns from Z. spina-christi sales on food (100%), but the trader households spent theirs on food (73%), education (19%) and
health care (8%).
The collector households spent all the annual nancial returns
from B. aegyptiaca fruit sales on food (100%), while the trader
households spent their annual earnings from the fruits trade on
food (84%) and education (16%) (Fig. 2).
3.3. NTFP role in household livelihood strategy
Table 1 indicates that A. digitata fruit sales represent a subsistence strategy for the majority of collector households and an accumulative strategy for the majority of trader households, whereas Z.
spina-christi and B. aegyptiaca fruits trade is a subsistence strategy
for the majority of both collector and trader households.
3.4. Factors inuencing the contribution of NTFP livelihood strategies
to household income
Table 2 shows that cash income from other household sources
has positive and signicant correlations with returns from A. digitata (18.320) and B. aegyptiaca fruits (0.286). It also demonstrates
that household labor input for collecting and selling the NTFPs is
positively and signicantly correlated with the returns from A. digitata (2.697), Z. spina-christi (33.853) and B. aegyptiaca (19.229)
fruits. Product price is signicantly and positively associated with
the household income from A. digitata (49.219) and Z. spina-christi
(2.315) fruits. However, the price of B. aegyptiaca fruits is statistically not signicant and positively correlated with the returns derived by the households, while Z. spina-christi fruits demand is
signicantly and positively (656.714) correlated with the returns.
Market access for A. digitata fruit collectors is signicantly and
positively (83.102) associated with the nancial returns from the
fruit trade, but the correlation is insignicant for Z. spina-christi
and B. aegyptiaca fruit collectors (Table 2). The primary resource
access is signicantly and positively associated with nancial returns derived from A. digitata (65.096 US$), Z. spina-christi
(365.643 US$) and B. aegyptiaca (1.421 US$) fruits (Table 2).
The high state and central government taxes also constrain the
level of nancial returns, as mentioned by most households. From
informal and formal discussion with households, it was found that
they lack training and capacity building. Direct observations revealed that, for all households, a lack of organization and cooperation in selling the fruits, small number of markets, and lack of

Fig. 2. Expenditure sources from annual selected fruit sales and the proportion of
collectors/traders related to each expenditure source. Source: Our eld survey
(20082009).

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Y.O. Adam et al. / Agricultural Systems 117 (2013) 9097

Table 1
Livelihood strategy typologies and selected NTFPs.
Household livelihood strategy typologies

Classication of NTFPs
studied

Devereux (1999)
Stack et al. (2003)
Dorward et al. (2005)

Ruiz Perez et al. (2004)

Accumulation
Increase in income ow and asset stocks

Specialized
High household income

Accumulationa
NTFP share > 50% of the household total
income
>50% of income in cash
Accumulative (e.g. poultry, animals)
NTFP > 50% of household
Supports the extension of the business
total income

A. digitata fruits

Supplementary
Diversication by choiceb
Intermediate household
income
>50% of income in cash
NTFP < 50% of household
total income

Subsistence

A. digitata fruits

Proactive and positive

Stepping up
Adaptive
Spread risk through diversication
Proactive and positive
Linking in
Coping/survival
Minimization of the costs of an adverse livelihood

Low household income

Ensuring that future livelihood capacity is not

seriously reduced
Reactive and defensive

<50% of income in cash

Additional elements and renements

based on this study

All income used for consumption (food,

education, health)
NTFP share < 50% of the household total
income

Z. spina-christi fruits
B. aegyptiaca fruits

NTFP < 50% of household

total income

Anticipation and destitution

Hanging on/linking in
Source: Devereux (1999), Stack et al. (2003), Ruiz Perez et al. (2004), Dorward et al. (2005) and empirical results of this study.
a
Investment and/or saving in other livelihoods capital.
b
Pursued economic activities that are by nature specic to local context in relation to available resources, culture, climate, etc.

market information are other factors limiting the nancial returns.

In addition, the road links connecting the villages with local and regional markets are poor.
4. Discussion
4.1. Contribution of the selected NTFPs to total annual household
income
Cash income from NTFP trade varies across households and
products. A. digitata fruit represent the highest earning activity,
tending to contribute a greater proportion to total income (>50%)
(Fig. 1). This nding agrees with studies by Grimes et al. (1994)
in Ecuador, Lemenih et al. (2003) in Ethiopia, Ndam (2004) in Cameroon, and Singh et al. (2010) in India, which all reported that
NTFPs contribute more than 50% to total household income. However, it disagrees with Ruiz Perez et al. (2004) who stated that in
Africa NTFPs tend to have a minor role in household income.
The contributions of Z. spina-christi and B. aegyptiaca fruits to
total household income were less than 50% (Fig. 1). These ndings
agree with Gunatilakes (1998) study in Sri Lanka, and the Ruiz Perez et al. (2004) conclusion on African NTFP cases. Depending on the
type of product, cash income shares vary (Fig. 1), with households
that have access to other sources of income generating proportionally more returns in absolute terms than households with no other
income sources (Table 2). This pattern is consistent with the Cetachew et al. (2007) observations on other NTFPs; however, there are
exceptions (Cavendish, 2000; Julius and Ndoye, 2004; Vedeld et al.,
2004; Shackleton et al., 2008; Inoni, 2009).
The contribution of A. digitata fruit sales to total annual household
cash income was relatively higher than Z. spina-christi and B. aegyptiaca fruits sales. This is due to the fact that A. digitata fruit selling is a
more specialized activity than just a cash income gap ller, due to
its being a regular task as well as the traditional institutions (e.g. tribal
leaders, village committees and religious persons) at village-level that
govern access to the primary resource and collection of the fruits.

4.2. Household expenditure from NTFP sale

The results of this study indicate that cash income from the
products trade contributes to food purchases. The cash income
from the local trade in 20082009 was important for overcoming
cash shortfalls for purchasing food, a fact reiterated by all households. The use of cash income provided by fruit sales to support
food purchase has wider economic implications for households living in arid and semi-arid regions where agricultural crops face
greater risks from rainfall uctuation, pests and diseases. In addition, fruits sales are particularly important for topping up other
seasonal food or cash income during times of hardship or emergency. This risk-management role of the local trade in fruits is
essential for rural areas in developing countries such as Sudan.
The household prots from fruit sales to pay for education may
contribute to intergenerational lifestyle improvements, as education
broadens childrens options in the future, and hopefully provides
them with better opportunities for changing the composition of
the assets that their parents possess, and hence raise future living
standards. Expenditure on health care also has economic implications for children and pregnant women, who are the most vulnerable
and susceptible to malaria, diarrhea, and respiratory tract infections,
mainly during the rainy season when cash income sources are limited, as conrmed by the majority of surveyed households (Adam
and Pretzsch, 2010). The investment of A. digitata nancial returns
in other economic activities (improved seeds and agricultural tools,
animals and poultry) allows rural households to secure basic needs
and to accumulate the necessary asset base for a better livelihood.
4.3. NTFP role in household livelihood strategy
Rural livelihood strategies may be considered as dynamic adaptation processes through which rural people seek rst to survive
and then to improve their well-being over time (Devereux, 1999;
Stack et al., 2003; Dorward et al., 2005; Ruiz Perez et al., 2004). This
section focuses on the role of the selected NTFP trade within the

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Y.O. Adam et al. / Agricultural Systems 117 (2013) 9097

Table 2
Coefcients from a multiple regression analysis of the net income from local-level trade in A. digitata, Z. spina-christi, and B. aegyptiaca fruits.
Independent variables

Unstandardized coefcients

Sig

(For yes/no variables: y = 1; n = 0)

Adansonia digitata fruits
(Constant)
Producer age (yrs)
Producer education level (yrs in education)
Other income sources (y/n)
Product price (US$/kg)
Market transparency (y/n)
Product demand (y/n)
Market access (km)
Product availability (y/n)
Labor input (h/yr)
Resource access (km)

Std. error

648.407
7.352
11.756
18.320
49.219
61.919
12.573
83,102
4.664
2.697
65.096

161.893
15.732
14.718
36.664
143.775
44.340
33.825
27.039
36.746
.624
17.157

4.004
.467
.799
4.500
3.342
1.396
.372
3.073
.127
4.319
3.794

.000a
.642
.428
.000a
.003a
.168
.711
.002a
.899
.000a
.000a

Ziziphus spina-christi fruits

(Constant)
Producer age (yrs)
Producer education level (yrs in education)
Product price (US$/kg)
Market transparency (y/n)
Product demand (y/n)
Market access (km)
Product availability (y/n)
Labor input (h/yr)
Resource access (km)

898.408
73.759
40.772
2.315
172.559
656.714
44.107
122.112
33.853
365.643

320.190
55.150
50.885
2.082
126.763
128.739
55.505
131.656
.542
82.168

2.806
1.337
.801
1.112
1.361
5.101
.795
2.928
2.575
4.450

.007a
.186
.426
.010a
.178
.000a
.430
.057a
.020a
.000a

Balanites aegyptiaca fruits

(Constant)
Producer age (yrs)
Producer education level (yrs in education)
Other income sources (y/n)
Product price (US$/kg)
Market transparency (y/n)
Product demand (y/n)
Market access (km)
Product availability (y/n)
Labor input (h/yr)
Resource access (km)

5.016
.356
.407
.286
.000
1.221
.846
.551
.067
19.229
1.421

3.773
.612
.468
1.274
.082
.998
.862
.470
.834
.019
1.886

1.329
.581
.870
2.225
.004
1.224
1.981
1.170
.080
9.981
1.754

.189
.564
.388
.023a
.997
.226
.031a
.247
.936
.000a
.045a

(p)

Source: Our eld survey (20082009).

a
Variables showing a signicant relationship with income p < 0.05.

wider sampled households livelihood strategies. Several scholars

have attempted to classify NTFP trading activities according to
livelihood strategy type. Lowores (2003) study on the miombo
woodlands of Malawi applied the livelihood strategy framework
proposed by Devereux (1999) to estimate the signicance of selling
miombo products for the food security of different households. In
her study Lowore found that the contribution made by NTFP trading activities varied among households, even for the same NTFP, as
the activity represents a range of livelihood strategies from survivalist where the households seek to prevent death to accumulative where they seek to increase income ows and stocks of
assets (Table 1). Stack et al. (2003), in an analysis of the Mopane
worm trade in Southern Africa, arrived at a similar conclusion.
They used the terms stepping up, linking in and hanging on
for similar sets of the strategies to those identied by Lowore
(2003) and Devereux (1999) (Table 1, Column 1). Devereux
(1999) argues that households follow a mix of accumulation, diversication, and shock response strategies in order to survive, and
proposed four groupings for livelihood strategies accumulative,
adaptive, coping, and survival (Table 1). Similarly, Dorward et al.
(2005) proposed that livelihood strategies may play different roles,
and categorize these contributions in terms of hanging on, stepping up and stepping out. The term hanging on describes strategies that enable households to maintain their present livelihood
(to survive) while the latter two terms represent different pathways for livelihood improvement, the rst comprising accumulation of productive resources to expand current strategies and
income, the second the accumulation of resources that can be used

as a base from which to shift to different, more protable livelihood strategies. Ruiz Perez et al. (2004) developed a typology of
livelihood strategies based on groupings that emerged from the
analysis of 61 case studies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America,
according to the role the NTFPs played in the household economy.
This typology draws heavily on the degree to which households are
integrated into the cash economy (Table 1). The former criterion is
not particularly useful in dry areas like the Rashad locality due to
the deterioration of farming livelihoods by past war and lack of
rain. Most of the households in Rashad are well integrated into
the cash economy and none survive on subsistence alone.
Due to the disadvantages presented by using the two mentioned typologies, as they fail to consider the factors surrounding
trade, this study proposes a modied typology in accordance with
the studys ndings (Table 1, Column 3). It includes the denitions
presented in the rst two columns of Table 1, but these are rened
and better specied by including new criteria. The NTFP case studies are also classied using the information supplied by the sampled households on expenditure from trade in the selected NTFPs
(Fig. 2). This illustrated that A. digitata fruit trade was largely an
accumulation strategy for some households resulting in additional
capital for the future and nancial security. It was the households
rst source of cash income (50%) (Fig. 1). Therefore, it provided
cash income for some households to meet basic needs, such as
food, education and health care (Fig. 2). The cash income in this
case covers only the consumption items and is not enough for
nancial capital accumulation and assets building for poverty alleviation. This is due to the fact that the households lack cash ow to

Y.O. Adam et al. / Agricultural Systems 117 (2013) 9097

send their products to potential markets with relatively higher

prices. However, traders are able to accumulate nancial capital
besides covering their basic needs. Over and above the minimal
maintenance roles, for some collector and trader households, the
A. digitata fruit trade enables progress through its contribution to
nancial capital accumulation or creation by buying poultry and
animals for milk production or future sale (Fig. 2 and Table 1). In
this situation the trade plays the role of stepping up or accumulative strategy. Thus, the household is enabled to accumulate nancial capital for future use or for expanding the fruit business (Fig. 2
and Table 1).
Z. spina-christi and B. aegyptiaca fruits trade was a subsistence
strategy for all households, serving to ameliorate household income or provide cash income for specic purposes, such as food
(Fig. 2). Although it was the households most important cash income it was less than 50% (Fig. 1). While Z. spina-christi and B.
aegyptiaca fruits trade share was not high on a percentage basis,
the role of the trade in supporting basic needs (food, education,
health care) is accepted. However, the products do not have the potential to alleviate poverty as all the income was used for consumption with nothing left for the future. The cash income from
these fruits trade in 2008/2009 was important for making up
shortfalls in cash income, especially for food purchases (Fig. 2).
For surveyed households the study identied that the contribution
of trade in Z. spina-christi and B. aegyptiaca fruits is likely to be signicant in assisting them to survive, providing important buffer
and insurance roles as the households struggle to maintain vulnerable livelihoods at the margins of survival. Therefore, this income
does not enable the households to alleviate their poverty as all of
the returns are used for subsistence (Fig. 2).
4.4. Factors inuencing the contribution of NTFP livelihood strategies
to household income
This section determines and analyses the factors that affect the
income from selected NTFP trade. Cash income from other sources
proved positively and signicantly associated with the net cash income earned from A. digitata and B. aegyptiaca (Table 2). It is interesting to see that households with other income sources gain
higher returns in absolute terms than households with no other income sources. This observation is common in NTFP related studies.
For instance, Cetachew et al. (2007) reported similar results. It is
mostly due to the fact that access to extra nancial capital is
important as this assists households to overcome numerous constraints such as cash ow problems and high transportation costs,
allowing them to collect more often or reach more distant markets.
Households themselves feel that access to additional cash income
sources would have a positive impact on cash earnings from trade
in selected products. However, there are also results that demonstrate the opposite (e.g. Shackleton, 2006; Inoni, 2009), indicating
that poor households derive more income from the collection
and selling of NTFPs than those in the wealthy category.
Labor input for collection and selling of the selected NTFPs is
positively and signicantly correlated with the income from A. digitata, Z. spina-christi and B. aegyptiaca fruits trade. This is due to the
fact that some households are spending a lot of time with collecting NTFPs. In addition, families with a large labor force, on account
of their time available, can collect or sell more NTFPs than households with less time available. Access to labor is a signicant factor
determining how people use their natural resources (Belcher et al.,
2005).
Products price is signicantly and positively associated with the
income derived from A. digitata and Z. spina-christi fruits trade.
However, the price of B. aegyptiaca fruits is statistically not significant (Table 2). This is due to the fact that most collectors sell their
fruits in their own villages where the price is low. Z. spina-christi

95

fruit demand is signicantly and positively associated with the

net income from the fruits. Market access for the A. digitata fruit
collectors is signicantly and positively correlated with the income
from the fruits trade, but the correlation is insignicant for Z. spinachristi and B. aegyptiaca fruit collectors (Table 2). This is due to the
fact that the two fruits lack national and international markets
with higher prices than those of the local markets.
Direct observation revealed that all households trading the
studied fruits lack organization and cooperation. This inuences
the cash income generation due to the high transaction costs that
prevent some households from transporting their products to distant markets. In addition, trading the selected products individually typies the weak competition between collectors, and this
limits the bargaining power in local markets due to inadequate
information on market conditions and prices. Newton et al.
(2006) mention that lack of organization that links collectors or
processors to consumers signicantly limits the commercialization
of 74% of the case studies considered by the CIFOR project (Ruiz
Perez et al., 2004).
The small number of product markets is another factor limiting
cash income from the trade. Market saturation due to a limited
number of markets affects the amount of cash income received
from the selected products. Most of the surveyed households mentioned that the products often take a longer time to be sold than in
the past, and this resulted in more time being invested in selling
the fruits. The challenge is to promote access to potential markets
in big cities. However, access to these markets requires increasing
local peoples knowledge about how to deliver the products with
the quality needed.
The primary resource access is signicantly and positively associated with the income from A. digitata, Z. spina-christi and B.
aegyptiaca fruits trade (Table 2). The level of access that households have to the primary resource is closely linked to the type
of land use and property regime. Access is far less problematic in
state forests than on private farms owned by the local inhabitants.
Field observations revealed that the trees producing the surveyed
products are passively maintained, as both propagation and management are left to nature. Therefore, recent poor management
of the primary resource contributes to threatening their long-term
sustainability, which ultimately inuences fruit availability. In
addition, production systems that are based on naturally regenerating resources, without further management, are more susceptible to resource depletion, in particular when more households
engage in the harvesting in response to high market demand or
increasing prices.
The direct observations also revealed that road links connecting
the villages with the local and regional markets are either poor or
nonexistent. Most villages in the study area are completely cut-off
from the rest of the country during the rainy season (JuneOctober), due to waterlogged soils inhibiting vehicles. This all increases
transaction costs, which impact the cash income or make the market chain unattractive to households. Poor infrastructure, access to
markets and low product prices also limit the potential benet
from the selected NTFPs for local people. Such constraints seem
to be universal as most NTFP case studies reveal more or less similar conditions (e.g. Haggblade et al., 2002; Marshal et al., 2003,
2006; te Velde et al., 2006).
A change in demand whether in an upward or downward direction, is another factor inuencing the nancial returns from the
products. A wide range of factors drives these changes. For example, changes in accessibility and transportation possibilities have
huge impacts on forest product markets. Technological innovations
can replace natural products or, conversely, create new uses for
natural products. What is more, consumers preferences change
over time. Garca-Fernndez (2004) for instance, reveals that the
demand for benzoin (a resin produced by Styrax trees in Sumatra)

96

Y.O. Adam et al. / Agricultural Systems 117 (2013) 9097

has decreased due to the use of benzoin having become less common as younger generations of Indonesians prefer modern cigarettes to the traditional ones containing benzoin. The expanding
domestic demand for oak mushrooms in South Korea is related
to a popular perception that they are natural food free of chemicals
(Youn Yeo Chang, 2004). Future demand for many forest products
may depend on such niche markets; however, new markets may be
ckle (Rai, 2004).
The high state and central government taxes also constrain the
level of nancial returns from local business, as mentioned by most
households. From formal and informal discussion with the households, it is found that they lack the training, capacity building and
organization in order to have an identity, negotiate with different
stakeholders regarding their needs, undertake group activities such
as sharing transportation to distant markets, and cooperate in
terms of, for example, price xing, etc. The positive impact of NTFP
cases on economic development is closely linked to state-sponsored regulations that offer clear and well-known rights to people,
techniques that do not put excessive pressure on the resource, a
transparent market, well-organized gatherers, and the existence
of external support (Ruiz Perez and Byron, 1999). At the other
end of the spectrum, cases where commercial exploitation of
NTFPs is generally considered to have adverse consequences arise
in situations where various conditions affect the NTFP market, such
as state regulations that conict with traditional rights and are
inadequately understood by the people, a nontransparent market
accessed by many individual sellers with poor organization, and
high pressure on the resource. The results from Ruiz Perez and Byron (1999) synthesize the different positions found in the literature. They tend to support the importance of state intervention
and the macro-policy framework with the clarication of forest
dwellers rights on land and NTFPs.

households to have access to regular price information from key

points in the chain. A good knowledge of all collectors, buyers
and sellers in the chain would enable collectors to have a stronger
bargaining power with traders. Major government efforts and commitments are also required to rebuild and support local institutions for natural resource management. This may require a third
party to lobby for and negotiate on behalf of rural people, since
the latter are a particularly disempowered group.
The study was conducted in a dry region, namely the Rashad
locality in Nuba Mountains, with distinct socioeconomic and environmental characteristics, and on specic NTFPs. It is hence rather
difcult to predict the extent to which the study ndings can be
applied in other regions and for other NTFPs. Care has thus to be
taken in generalizing the study ndings for other regions or NTFPs.
Further studies should include other NTFPs from different regions
to facilitate comparison and generalization of the ndings.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the Ministry of Higher Education and
Scientic Researches, Sudan for sponsoring the PhD study for the
rst author. We also thank the Technische Universitt Dresden
and Education Support Fund Africa (ESFA) for covering the primary
and secondary data collection costs, respectively. We would like
also to thank Mr. Nasareldeen Gorashi from Sinnar University,
Mohammed Idris, Ahmed Massoud, Moda, Nadya from Forests National Corporation (FNC) for their diligence and assistance during
data collection. Very special thanks are extended to Mr. Massoud,
Director of Forests National Corporation, South Kordofan State for
logistical support and hospitality during the data collection.
References

5. Conclusion and recommendations

The studied products perform a variety of functions, from assisting households to secure food supply to accumulating nancial capital. Thus it would be incorrect to label and make generalizations
that all NTFPs are an unsuccessful means for rural development
and poverty alleviation. In this study, A. digitata fruits have a potential to contribute towards these objectives. However, Z. spina-christi
and B. aegyptiaca fruits do not. Generating income from the NTFP
trade alone does not lead to rural development, but the creation
of nancial capital would make a positive impact on poverty alleviation at rural household level. The variations in livelihood strategies
indicate the roles of external (such as product markets, resource
base and political context) and internal (household characteristics)
factors that inuence the outcome of these activities.
Proper recognition of the role of the trade in dry areas and
inclusion of institutional support by government and other rural
development bodies would assist in overcoming many barriers
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could come in various forms. Potential benets from the NTFP
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households collectors and traders to organize themselves better
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stakeholders regarding their needs, undertake group activities such
as sharing transport to distant markets, and cooperate in terms of,
for example, price xing, etc. is a critical area of intervention. More
importantly, a transparent marketing chain would enable the

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