Small-scale farmers indigenous approach to soil fertility in some villages of Oyo State, Nigeria.

Abstract

This study is an attempt to highlight the indigenous approach used by farmers to determine the level of fertility of a soil. It was found that soil colour, certain grasses, shrubs, trees, weeds and worm casts were dominant criteria used by majority (87%) of the respondents. Similarly without visiting a farm plot, farmers assess the fertility of a soil sample by using colour, decaying plant (debris), soil texture, stickiness and weight of the soil as common approach. It is suggested that further research should be conducted to determine the contribution of grasses such as corn grass, Gamba grass, spear grass, shrubs such as broom weed and weeds such as Afranomum scaptum to soil nutrient enhancement. This could give greater insight to improving the indigenous approach of these small - scale farmers.

Keywords: Indigenous approach, soil fertility assessment, small - scale farmers, Nigeria.