Adoption of efficient harvesting method in Onigambari Forest Reserve, Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The Nigerian rainforest is threatened severely by persistent pressure and uncontrolled logging activities as increasing demand for wood  and wood products as a result of population growth. Therefore, forest harvesting operations require effective management, experience  of the labour, and adoption of inefficient harvesting methods which consequently limit the capacity of most Nigeria forest to meet the  everincreasing demands for wood as raw materials as well as the forest regenerative capacity. This study investigated the harvesting  method being adopted in Onigambari Forest Reserve, Oyo State, Nigeria. Reconnaissance survey and measurements methods for data  collection were adopted. Fifty (50) trees were randomly selected and felled. Four parameters; volume, harvesting efficiency, effective  work time and productivity were evaluated. Data obtained were statistically analyzed using descriptive analysis and charts. The result  revealed that the average mean of extracted volume was 0.68m³ per log, the harvesting efficiency method was 52%, and the average  mean of effective work time per log was 0.029hours, while average mean productivity was 27.43m³/hour. This study concluded that the  result obtained may be attributed to so many factors such as the labour experience, the condition of the equipment, and the environmental conditions during the operation. Hence, this can be improved by investing in human capacity building, a better working  environment, loss of work time, and policy strengthening, in order to increase the output which will in turn help to meet the demand for  wood products.