Abstract

This study assessed rural households’ objectives for gathering non-timber forest products in Kogi State, Nigeria, with specific focus on identifying some species of non-timber forest products present in the area, identifying reasons why they engaged in the gathering of the non-timber forest products (NTFPs) as well as determining the relative importance of the identified reasons to the households. One hundred and sixty-eight (168) questionnaires were randomly administered on respondents from four randomly selected local government areas from Kogi West Senatorial District of the State. The study identified some species of NTFPs that were found in the study area. These included locust bean (Parkia biglobosa), water leaf (Talinium triangulare), bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina) and a host of others. Also, reasons why these rural households in the study area collected NTFPs were identified. Among the reasons given were food security, self employment, income generation and continuity. The relative importance of the given reasons was also determined and it was discovered that food security was the most important reason the households engaged in NTFPs gathering while continuity objective was ranked least.

Key words: Non-timber forest products, household, food security, continuity, Kogi State.