Farmers’ Perceptions on Payment for Ecosystem Services Scheme in Uluguru Mountains, Tanzania

Abstract

The payment for ecosystem services (PES) scheme is viewed as a market-based approach to environmental management that compensates land stewards for ecosystem conservation and restoration in developing countries. Farmers’ perceptions were expected to influence the success of the adoption of the PES scheme land use interventions. While farmers’ perception of the adoption of PES has always been considered important, it is not empirically known what kind of perceptions farmers have of the PES scheme. This article assesses farmers’ perceptions of the PES scheme in Kibungo Juu ward, Morogoro Rural District, Tanzania. Specifically, this paper established levels of perceptions of the PES scheme among farmers and examined factors that determined farmers’ perceptions of the PES scheme. A simple random sampling technique was used to obtain 219 households for the survey. A 5-point Likert scale was employed to gauge the perception of the PES scheme. The data were analysed using IBM-SPSS software. Descriptive statistical analysis and an ordinal logistic regression model were used to determine levels of perceptions among farmers and to examine the factors that influence farmers’ perceptions toward PES, respectively. Results show that 48% of the respondents had a positive perception of the scheme, while 32% had a negative perception and 20% had a neutral perception of the scheme. Age, level of education and farmers’ fear of the long-term aim of the PES scheme were statistically significant with p=0.000, p=0.005 and p=0.016, respectively, in
determining farmers’ perceptions toward the PES scheme. It can be observed that a significant proportion of farmers had a
positive perception of PES. Also, older farmers with high levels of education feared the long-term aim of the PES scheme;
Hence, their perceptions influenced the adoption of the PES scheme. Therefore, given the positive perception of the majority,
the study recommends upscaling the f the PES scheme to other areas of ecosystem degradation.