ABSTRACT
The study investigated the economics of soil
conservation practices among small-scale farmers in Enugu State. The study used
multi-stage random probability sampling method and the primary data were
collected form 120 farmers using structured questionnaire. Data on the
socio-economic status of the farmers, forms of land/soil degradation in the
study area, methods/ technologies used in combating them, intensity of adoption
of selected soil conservation practices, costs and benefits of selected methods
of conserving the soil and constraints to adoption of soil conservation
practices were obtained. Data obtained were analyzed using percentages,
cost-benefit analysis and multiple regression analysis. Based on the 2007/2008
cropping season, it was noted that male (70%) were more involved in soil
conservation practices than female (30%). Most of the farmers (61%) had no
formal education. Land acquisition was mostly through inheritance (77%). Fifty
three percent of the farmers have been in active farming for about 21 – 30
years. Membership of farm organization by farmers was still low (16%). It is
noted that 60% of the farmers had never been visited by the extension agents.
The major form of soil/land degradation identified in the study area is reduced
soil fertility (41%) Majority (43%) of the farmers said that the methods of
soil conservation used are indigenous to them. The prevalent soil/land
management forms in the study area are inorganic fertilizer, livestock
manuring, intercropping, cover cropping and leaving crop residue. The study
showed the guiding factors to adoption of soil conservation technologies/ methods
by respondents as improved yield (return), access to credit, concern for soil
erosion and other related soil problems, ownership of land, climatic change,
and capital access. The study indicated that out of the thirteen (13) methods
of soil conservation mostly used, 77% of the farmers adopted between 1-6
methods. This showed that the intensity of adoption is relatively low. The
farmers that used intercropping, inorganic fertilizer, cover cropping, leaving
crop residue an livestock manure combination as method of soil conservation
have the highest gross margin of N36750 and benefit-cost of 2.18. The
effect/ relationship between farmers’ socio-economic characteristics and
intensity of adoption of soil conservation practices showed a coefficient of
determination, R2 of 63.2% which was a good fit. The test of
influence of the socio-economic characteristics of on farmer’s adoption
intensity shows that these characteristics have significant influence on
adoption intensity at 5%. There is a significant correlation between the
benefits and the cost of soil conservation practices(r-0.936, p<0.05).
Access to credit, small farm size, and lack of trainings, poor infrastructure
and poor returns were the major constraints to adoption of soil conservation
practices by farmers. It was recommended that land should be well defined and
property right to land well enforced. Finally, farmers were encouraged to form
farm co-operatives fro easy training and access to farm assistance.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Information
Soil may be
defined as a natural body of loose and unconsolidated materials found on the
earth’s surface; it is derived from weathered parent rock materials and
decaying organic matters and it is composed of solid particles with liquid and
or gases occupying the spaces between the particles (Ohaeri, 2000). It is on
this solid that most agricultural as well as non agricultural activities take
place. The food we eat, the raw materials needed by the industries are derived
from there, directly or indirectly. An enduring food security will depend on a
sustainable and productive resource base (Amaechina, 2000).
Soil
conservation is an investment to enhance the future productive capacity of the
soil, it implies reducing risks of soil erosion to a tolerable limit (Lapar and
Pandey, 1999). It is also a set of management strategies for prevention of the
soil being eroded from the earth’s surface or becoming chemically altered by
over use, salinization, acidification, or other chemical soil contamination (Pagiola,
1993). It also entails not only control over erosion but all those other
measures like correction of soil defects, application of manures and
fertilizers, proper rotations, irrigation, drainage, which aim at maintaining
the productivity of the soil at a high level (Government of India, 2006). Soil
conservation is also viewed as the use of those practices which will maximize
the present value of the long-run returns from land use (Kaine, 1991).
The need for
soil conservation arises due to signs of deteriorating agricultural
environments which include erosion, flood disaster, desert encroachment and
drought, deforestation, loss of land to other uses; if not checked, the soil
becomes degraded. Soil degradation can be defined as a reduction in the land’s
actual or potential uses. If this
1.2 Problem
Statement
Livelihoods
of most of the rural households in Nigeria are dependent on land. The land
resource has been employed in varied proportions to meet both subsistence needs
and/or cash needs. Equally, farmers have long recognized that land cannot be
used without limit. They have therefore experienced a decline in land
productivity necessitating some actions on their part. According to Chomba
(2004), the traditional redemptive action has been through land-fallow
practices, clearing new land areas or crop rotation. However, with increasing
land constraints in most areas, fallow periods have drastically declined. The
traditional farming system that farmers have previously employed to sustain
their productivity cannot any longer effectively work due to population
pressure.
One of the
biophysical constraints to increasing agricultural productivity is the low
fertility of soils; and improving soil fertility levels has become an important
issue in development agenda because of its linkage to food insecurity and
economic well being of the population (Ajayi et al, 2003 and Bekunda et
al, 1997). Also, Hellin (2003) and Sanchez (2003) noted that sustained
agricultural production in most sub-Saharan......
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Item Type: Project Material | Attribute: 87 pages | Chapters: 1-5
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