Utilization of soil conservation practices among root and tuber farmers in Oyun Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

One of the main reasons for the crop failure is underestimating the importance of  soil status thereby causing mismanagement of the soil with inappropriate farming  practices. This study therefore, assessed the soil conservation practices among  root and tuber crop farmers in Oyun Local Government area of Kwara State, Nigeria. A two stage sampling technique was employed to select a total of 160 respondents used for the study. Data were collected and analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the study revealed that the mean age of the respondents was 45.4 years with majority (69.4%) being male and about half (50.0%) had one form of formal education or another. Findings showed strong  positive perception towards soil conservation practices using beneficial statement such as “Only farmers engage in soil management” (3.49±1.06), “Proper soil use is enhanced by tree planting” (3.81±0.83). Results showed that among the  respondents mixed cropping (2.35±0.59), conservation tillage (2.26±0.77) and bush fallowing (2.21±0.74) were always used and ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd  respectively. There were positive and significant relationship between respondents educational level (r= 0.089, p=0.000) and household size (r= 0.012, p=0.000) and their extent of usage of soil conservation practices at 5% level of significance. The study concluded that soil conservation practices were always used by root and tuber crop farmers and their perception were also positive towards it. It is recommended that root and tuber expansion programme should be strengthened and expanded to other communities that have not benefited from the programme.

Key words: Soil management practices, Utilization, Root and Tuber Crops, Farmers