Muluken Gezahegn Wordofa

Forest Extension Service Delivery: Implications to Participatory Forest Management (Pfm) Muluken Gezahegn Wordofa

Participatory Forest Management (PFM) project has been implemented in Tanzania for over a decade. To accelerate PFM, forest extension services have been delivered to community members. However, there were criticisms of ineffectiveness of Extension Agents (EAs). This study was conducted with the aim of identifying community demands for extension; comparing extension services and working conditions of Professional Extension Agents (PEAs) and Non- Professional Extension Agents (NPEAs); and finding out factors adversely influencing extension services of EAs. The results of the study indicate a huge mismatch between community demands and current extension services delivered to them. Also, statistically highly significant differences were observed between PEAs and NPEAs in relation to amount of per-diem per day, distance of the nearest household addressed, and area of operation from office. Forest extension services were affected adversely by low number of EAs and poor community participation. This book is intended to address PFM project designers, implementers and evaluators at different levels in developing countries.