Mohammad Samaun Safa

Socio-Economic Factors Affecting the Income of Small-scale Agroforestry Farms in Hill Country Areas in Yemen: A comparison of OLS and WLS Determinants

Yemen is a less-developed country in the Arabian Peninsula, with only 3% arable land. An agroforestry land-use system has been practiced traditionally by small-scale farmers, but is associated with low productivity and income. A study has been undertaken to determine the socio-economic attributes of farmers that influence the financial performance of agroforestry and non-agroforestry farms in the Bura’a Mountain region. A survey was conducted of 150 farmers involved in both agroforestry and non-agroforestry. Both OLS and WLS regression were applied, and coefficients compared in terms of consistency and goodness of fit. Incomes of farmers were found to be influenced by education, area of land, livestock holding, family size, and whether coffee is grown, but not farmer’s age. The WLS method produced efficient and consistent results, whereas OLS regression was affected by the heteroscedasticity. The findings of the study indicate that the farmers of the study area are in need of financial and technical support from government to increase their income. Infrastructural development and public intervention in developing farmers’ technical know-how could enhance production and ensure the optimum use of land as well as soil and water conservation.

The effect of participatory forest management on the livelihood and poverty of settlers in a rehabilitation program of degraded forest in Bangladesh

The sal forest is the only plainland forest in Bangladesh, and is of national economic and environmental importance. High population and ever increasing poverty has stimulated exploitation of the forest alarmingly and brought it near extinction. In facing this situation, the Bangladesh Forest Department implemented a participatory management approach, involving the householders living in and around the forests, for forest maintenance and protection. This study examines the effectiveness of practicing participatory forestry on the settlers’ livelihood in the encorached area of the sal forest. The settlers were given degraded and encroached forest land through the program. Two major social forestry models — namely agroforestry and woodlots — are included in the study. Participation in the resettlement increased household income, employment opportunities and financial and non-land assets. It was found that the participatory management regime could attain the sustainability of the forest and accelerate the standard of settlers’ livelihood, hence the program is an efficient management option towards sustainability of the forest resources. These findings suggest that there is a role for extending the approach to rehabilitate other degraded and encroached forest lands in Bangladesh.

Structural analysis of TQM and its impact on customer satisfaction and innovation

The purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of TQM practices on customer satisfaction and innovation performance in the Malaysian manufacturing and service sectors. A questionnaire survey was conducted to 241 firms and hypotheses were verified using a structural analysis. The results reveal that the adoption of TQM practices can have a positive impact on customer satisfaction and innovation performance in Malaysia. This paper offers some imperative insights to assist the management team when comes to the restructuring of their TQM practices, thus making sure that the practices adopted are able to enhance both the innovation level and customer satisfaction within their firms.

The role of NGOs in improving social forestry practice: Do they promote livelihood, sustainability and optimal land use in Bangladesh?

The encroachment rate in forests in Bangladesh is high and increasing — accelerated by rural poverty and the demand for dwelling space and forest products — causing environmental degradation as well as loss of forest cover and productivity. The forests are managed by the Forest Department, although a substantial area of marginal land belongs to other semi-public agencies including Roads and Highways and the Water Development Board. This marginal land has been left unused or underutilized. In contrast, nongovernmental organizations have an appropriate accessibility and technology disseminating ability to utilize this land in reducing poverty and enhancing rural livelihood, and have been highly active and successful in rehabilitating encroached forests. NGOs have added a new dimension to forest management, which has ensured community participation and protection of the forests, both planted and natural. This study evaluates the social forestry activities of four large NGOs, namely BRAC, Proshika, Caritas and CARE-Bangladesh, as well as national social forestry activities. By adopting a common partnership between public and private authority, property right conflicts have been resolved and rural livelihoods enhanced, and scope has been created for utilizing marginal land. The NGO partnership has been effective in reducing poverty and improving livelihoods. As an outcome of this common partnership, 33,472 km of roadside planting and 53,430 ha of reforestation activities have been carried out during the last two decades.