Assessment of Agroforestry Practices in Ago-Owu Forest Reserve, Ayedaade Local Government area, Osun State, South-western Nigeria

Abstract

Agroforestry is a collective name for land use systems and practices in which woody perennials are integrated with food crop and forestry, either in a spatial mixture or in a temporal sequence and there are normally both ecological and economic interactions between woody and non woody components. This study investigated types of agroforestry practiced, the impact of agroforestry on the lives of people, assessed the impact of agroforestry on the environment, and identified possible problems associated with agroforestry system in Ago-owu Forest Reserve, Ayedaade Local Government area of Osun State, Nigeria by collecting samples from Mokore, Ajegunle and Alabameta villages using verified methods. Sampling intensity of 10% for population below 500, 5% sampling intensity for population between 500 and 1000 and 2.5% sampling intensity for the population above 1000. A total of eighty (80) questionnaires were administered, thirty copies of questionnaires were distributed both in Mokore and Ajegunle and twenty in Alabameta. The result was analysed using Descriptive Statistics such as frequency tables, percentages, bar chart and Chi square. The result showed that 47.5 % of the respondents are involved in Agri-silviculture. The benefits derived from agroforestry was also unfolded, they are medicinal (11.25%), Income generation (52.5%), production of food crop (33.75%) and non-timber forest products generation (2.5%). The impact of agroforestry to the environment includes Soil erosion control (48.75%), Soil stabilization (31.25%), and (Stable environment 20%).