Abstract

Tesfanesh Ababu Kebede* and Xiaoqian Chen

Eucalyptus woodlot is the most economically important and extensively planted exotic tree species in Ethiopia. This study investigates farmers perception and factors affecting perception towards Eucalyptus woodlot plantation. The data collected from 150 randomly selected farmers using semi-structured questionnaires, focus group discussion and key informant interviews. Analysis made through descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression model. The result revealed that 65.3% of farmers had positive perception, but they perceived negative effects like shading effect, nutrient competition, and moisture competition. Eucalyptus contributed 41.6% to total household income, next to agriculture (54.2%). Degraded land, roadsides, and farm boundary were the common niches of Eucalyptus plantations. The model result revealed that stayed years, farmers experience, age, education status, and distance to market had significant effect on farmers perception towards Eucalyptus plantation. The findings suggest that experts and policy makers should consider the interests and perceptions of farmers to make decision regarding Eucalyptus woodlot plantation.