On average, the contribution of NTFPs to cash income
in our study was 14%, which is lower, but comparable to,
percentages found in studies by Malhotra and others (1991)
in West Bengal (17%), Ganesan (1993) in Tamil Nadu
(24%), and Gunatilke and others (1993) in Sri Lanka (21%).
In our study, fuelwood and fodder were not sold for cash
income as in these other studies. Where only one agricultural
crop per year could be grown, NTFPs contributed
approximately 20% to cash income. In addition, in this
study area, 12% of households receive all of their cash income
from the sale of NTFPs. The data demonstrate that
sales of NTFPs and NTFP-based products provide an important
mechanism for generating cash for cash-only payments
such as school and are particularly important where
only one crop can be grown per year.