The Role Of Planted Forests On Improving Household Income And Socio Welfare In The Central Region Of Uganda

Planted forests serve as an engine of growth that propels economic activities of households and economy at large in Uganda.But the rate at which the forest cover is declining puts the country at a setback in the forestry sector.Also rate at which the agricultural land such as permanent crop land and arable land area are increasing has seriously affected planted forest development indirectly through its effect on forest land that was converted to agricultural land.This is a cause of grave concern because,under the present concerns,agricultural crop production and human settlement are calculated to defeat themselves by systematically destroying the forest on which it depends.Therefore,the objective of this study analyzes the role of planted forests on the economic development and socio welfare in Uganda concentrating on household in the central region of Uganda acting as a substitute for natural forests.Data for this study was sourced from different areas,secondary data was sources from necessary statistical departments,Uganda Bureau of Statistics(UBOS),Ministry of Water and Environment,National Forest Authority(NFA)and National Environment Management Authority(NEMA).Primary data was collected through household interview which was conducted in central region covering districts of Mityana,Mubende,and Mpigi among others with a total sample size of 250 households.The study will also adopt different data analysis mechanism to analyze and further interpret the study results,data was collected and an econometric model was developed.Excel and STATA version 13 were used to analyze data in descriptive statistics method and regression analysis,prominent results were extracted which help to explain the relation of planted forests,households and different variables.Based the result obtained from role of planted forests,the study found that timber products,forestland area,nontimber products,per capita income and agricultural output have positive significant impact on household income and therefore contributed positively to economic development and socio welfare in Uganda and central Uganda in particular while rate of deforestation which comes with more complications has negative significant impact on the household income.The study found that there are the factors that significantly affected household income negatively there by negatively affecting the role of planted forests to the economy.Therefore it is requires to increase planted forests development since natural forest cover is declining at an alarming rate which is attributed mainly to an increasing population,settlement and urbanization.This study aims to uncover the role played by planted forests in economic development and socio welfare so to bridge the gap of natural forests.In conclusion it was of a view that planted forests play a vital role in improving household?s welfare and income hence the region at large however based on the findings it?s recommended to encourage tree planting as it still done on small scale.