Determinant of soil management practices in cereal based production systems among small-scale farmers in Kwara state

Abstract

Soil management practices are known for their efficiency in combating land degradation issues and improving soil productivity, but generally there are low usage levels of these practices by the farmers. The study analyses the influence of socioeconomic factors on the attitude of farmers towards soil management practices in Kwara State. The specific objectives were to determine the soil management practices carried out by cereal farmers in the area and to examine the socio-economic factors affecting the use of soil management practices in cereal based production in the study area. A random sampling technique was used to collect data from 118 cereal farmers in the study area. Descriptive statistics and regression model were the analytical tools used. The study shows that ridging (94.1%), crop rotation (74.6%) and use of fertilizer (69.5%) were the most common soil management practices among the farmers. Logistic regression model highlighted factors like Age, farm size, number of contacts with extension agents, total labour used and total number of plots cultivated with cereals to influence the use of soil management practices by the farmers. The study recommends that farmers should be encouraged to make use of soil management practices which will bring about soil improvement and also improve their productivity.

Keywords: Soil management practice, cereal production, Small scale farmers, Kwara State and Logistic Regression model