Abstract:
The survival of the forest estate is largely dependent on the available workforce or manpower for
maximum utilization and productivity of the forest estate. This study assessed personnel strength
and quality of forest development for sustainable development in Abia State, Nigeria from 2008-
2017. One hundred copies of questionnaires were administered to the randomly selected
professionals, technicians and forest guards to assess the real workforce and adequacy of forest
service’s organogram. The variables obtained were subjected to both descriptive and inferential
analyses. The results shows that there are nineteen (19) forest reserves in Abia State out of which
4 are natural forest while the remaining 15 are plantation forest reserves. The actual workforce in
forest reserves were not adequate as only 2 professionals, 9 technicians and forest guards in the
Natural forest while in the plantation forest there were 8 professionals, 20 technicians and forest
guards. Results showed that 65% of the respondents said the forest service’s organogram is
adequate for delegation if properly followed. The empirical norm developed showed that there is
shortage of staff as the ratio of professionals, technical staff on ground does not agree with the
norm of 1 professional to 4 technical staff. Massive recruitment of staff is neededto improve
personnel strength and quality of forest development for sustainable development in Abia State |
