Appraisal of tree planting programmes in Maiha Local Government area of Adamawa state, Nigeria

Abstract

Deforestation, soil degradation and other forms of environmental degradation that could lead to desert encroachment have become a major concern in the world more especially in the sub Saharan Africa. Consequently, environmentalist and agriculturalists have led a campaign on afforestation and agroforestry to control this problem. This paper appraises tree planting and tree planting programs in the study area. Primary and secondary data sets ware collected on the socio economic activities of people as well as their perception on tree planting. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results show that there is a high level of awareness (86.7 %) on the importance of tree planting in the study area. Government’s effort has been in the area of tree planting campaign and seedlings supply. However, farmers lack modern sivicultural skills and do not have enough seedlings coupled with improper timing of planting. Finally, the paper recommends the use fruit and leguminous trees since it gives immediate benefit to the farmers and as well conserve the environment.