Impacts of Smallholder Tree Plantation in Amhara Region of Ethiopia: The Case of Lay Gayint and Fagta Locuma Districts

Abstract
This study analyzes 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
district’s 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.