Implications of sawmill by-products management in rural economies of three local Government Areas of Benin metropolis, Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The neglect of sawmill by-product management presented economic challenges which underscored the objectives of sawmill by-product management such as saw mill waste collection patronage, employment on waste collection and salaries, uses of various waste and revenues from waste management. Data was obtained with the aid of a close-ended questionnaire administered to 68 respondents, at 60% sampling intensity on sawmills greater than two registered mills in each location. Empirical observation was also adopted to generate data from records and measurement of by-product indices.  These data were collated and analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentages which were summarized in tables and inferential statistics using Analysis of variance.The results showed that the quantity of sawdust collected varied significantly among various regimes of collection considered in the study (p<0.05) with bi-weekly collection dominating other collection regimes. The results also showed that less than five persons (<5) accounted for 41.8% of those who collected sawdust from sawmills. The results further revealed that there was significant difference (p<0.05) amongst the income generated from the various sawmill by-products in the study area with the income from offcuts dominating the income from other by-products. The results showed that there was significant difference between the applications of sawmill by-products by end users (p>0.05). It also revealed that there was significant difference (p<0.05) among the different charges paid to government by the sawmill operators. The study recommended that efforts should be made to develop markets for sawmill by-products, such as sawdust, offcuts and wood chips