Perception of People about Shelterbelts in Kaita Local Government Area of Katsina State, Nigeria

Abstract

A study was carried out to determine the perception of people about the role of shelterbelts in checking the incidence of windstorm on buildings, crops, livestock and humans before and after shelterbelts establishment in Kaita Local Government Area (LGA) of Katsina State. A two-stage random sampling technique was adopted to select 300 households from six randomly selected villages in the LGA. Data on respondents’ perception of incidence of windstorm before and after shelterbelts establishment were collected using structured questionnaires, analyzed by ANOVA and tested at 5% significance level to determine whether the belts reduced the incidence of windstorm or not. There were significant reductions in the incidence of windstorm on buildings, crops and humans (pı0.05). However, there was no significant reduction in the incidence of windstorm on livestock (pı0.05), apparently because of the restrictions resulting from protective measures in the shelterbelts, which denied livestock access to fodder.

Key words: Shelterbelts, incidence, windstorm, reduction, Kaita, Katsina
State).