Socio-economic factors affecting the income of small-scale agroforestry farms in hill country areas in Yemen: A comparison of OLS and WLS determinants |
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Authors: | Mohammad Samaun Safa |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Forest Management, Faculty of Forestry, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor DE, Malaysia |
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Abstract: | Yemen is a less-developed country in the Arabian Peninsula, with only 3% arable land. An agroforestry land-use system has
been practiced traditionally by small-scale farmers, but is associated with low productivity and income. A study has been
undertaken to determine the socio-economic attributes of farmers that influence the financial performance of agroforestry
and non-agroforestry farms in the Bura’a Mountain region. A survey was conducted of 150 farmers involved in both agroforestry
and non-agroforestry. Both OLS and WLS regression were applied, and coefficients compared in terms of consistency and goodness
of fit. Incomes of farmers were found to be influenced by education, area of land, livestock holding, family size, and whether
coffee is grown, but not farmer’s age. The WLS method produced efficient and consistent results, whereas OLS regression was
affected by the heteroscedasticity. The findings of the study indicate that the farmers of the study area are in need of financial
and technical support from government to increase their income. Infrastructural development and public intervention in developing
farmers’ technical know-how could enhance production and ensure the optimum use of land as well as soil and water conservation. |
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Keywords: | Bura’ a Mountain region heteroscedasticity WLS regression analysis income determinants highland agroforestry |
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