Factors determining forest management by farmers in northwest Spain: Application of discriminant analysis

Farmers have come to play an important role in multiple-use forestry and have been identified as some of the most important and universal non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners on a global scale. In Galicia (NW Spain), more than two-thirds of forest land belongs to more than 670,000 NIPF owners, who are mainly identified as active and retired farmers. The aim of the present study was to differentiate and obtain a profile of farmers involved in forestry (forest farmers) and those not involved in forestry (non-forest farmers) by assessment of practical factors associated with land management. This will allow efficient development of priority guidelines for forest research and of policies to encourage forestry and improve decision-making related to agroforestry. Data were collected by a survey (personal questionnaire) of more than 4300 Galician farmers in 2004. In a random sample of 49% of the completed questionnaires, Discriminant Analysis (DA) was used to examine the land holding attributes and socioeconomic landowner characteristics – and the combinations of these – that provide the most accurate differentiation between forest farmers and non-forest farmers. The predictive discriminant model for classifying farmers was then tested by a cross-validation procedure in the remaining landowner population surveyed in the region. The results indicated that the annual investment in agroforestry improvement, the number of plots on and size of the farm holding, the landowner's experience in farm management and the number of members in the family unit were key determinants in the involvement of farmers in forestry and their commitment to the practice. It was concluded that the discriminant model may be a useful method for identifying and characterizing NIPF landowner profiles in the region and may help academics and decision-makers in order to develop and plan better policy programs for supporting and encouraging forestry among farmers.

Research Highlights
► We analyze current scientific works regarding agricultural and forest farmers.
► Farmers are key agents in forest management and planning at numeroes rural areas wordlwide.
► Advances in new methodologies adapted to each territory are necessary.
► We need to know more about and understand why some fraction of farmer population opt for forest management.
► It is necessary to integrate agriculture and livestock activities with forestry in the territory.