Trees play multiple roles for rural households, providing significant economic and ecological benefits.
With trees, households can sell wood for fuel and construction materials, for example, or non-timber forest products such as honey from bee keeping, adhesives/gum, spices, and medicinal products. Trees also prevent soil degradation of their land. Planting trees is also an alternative crop and livelihood strategy, particularly in drier areas where drought is frequent, soils are poor, and use of fertilizers and improved seeds is risky and less profitable. Findings from Ethiopia suggest that households consider a diversity of attributes in their decisions to plant trees.
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