Abstract:
The study was conducted in Urambo District. The objectives of the study were as
follows: to examine role played by primary farmer co-operatives in implementing
the reforestation programme; to determine the planting rate of trees among cooperative
members; to assess the survival rate of planted trees; and to identify
constraints faced by farmers in implementing the reforestation programme and
their coping strategies. The study applied a cross-sectional research design. A
variety of methods including personal observations questionnaires and focus
group discussion were applied. Sample size for the study was 60 primary-farmer
co-operative members, 20 members from each of the three primary-farmer cooperatives,
selected purposively and systematically from the most affected
division. Sample size represented 7% of total study population which is 862 cooperative
members. Data were analyzed using SPSS, both descriptive statistics
and inferential statistics were analyzed. Results from this study show a poor
performance of reforestation programme. Furthermore, the results indicate that,
the study had a low planting rate and a low survival rate of 39.6 %. This study
recommends proper actions to be taken on several constraints that have been
identified to course the lower rates. Furthermore, farmers should be separated
from livestock keepers to avoid grazing on tree farms. On issues of fire outbreaks,
there is a need to introduce strict by-laws, penalties and fines to those who
deliberately burn the forests.
