Perceptions and adoption of agroforestry technology as climate change mitigation strategy among farmers in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the farmers’ perception and adoption of agroforestry technologies as a climate change mitigation strategy in Oyo  State, Nigeria.A multi-stage sampling technique was applied to identify199 respondents from the study area. Data were analyzed with the  aid of descriptive statistics as well as inferential statistics such as Likert scale and Tobit model.Results of analysis showed that47.2%  of the sampled respondents were adopters of agroforestry technology.The result further showed the different forms of agroforestry  practices adopted by the farmers which include boundary planting, multipurpose trees/shrubs, wind breaks and live fencing.Majority  (77.66%) of the adopters’ practice only one agroforestry practice and only 22.34% of them adopted two forms of agroforestry  technologieswhile none of them adopted more than two forms of agroforestry technologies. Tobit analysis revealed that gender, age,  education level, access to extension services, farming experience and farm size were positive and significant(at 5% level) factors in  determining the intensity of adoption of agroforestry technologies among the farmers.The respondents agreed that agroforestry  improves soil fertility and reduces the microclimate of the area. Many constraints were discovered to militate against the adoption of  agroforestry technologies by farmers in the study area. These include lack of knowledge and required skills on agroforestry, long  gestation period of trees, scarcity of land for tree planting and lack of planting materials. Others are lack of technical assistance,  competition among trees and arable crops on farmland and illegal felling of trees. In view of the findings, the study recommends that  efforts should be geared towards increasing adoption of agroforestry technology through enlightenment and sensitization of farmers on  the importance of agroforestry and the need for its adoption, so as to enjoy the benefits of agroforestry practices in the study area.