ABSTRACT
Unsustainable forest land use practices have resulted in land degradation in
the northern part of Nigeria leading to low crop yield. Agroforestry is a viable
option for reversing dwindling crop yields through proper soil management
practices. There is notably no sufficient published information on the
contributions of agroforestry to food production in Katsina State. The practices
of agroforestry and its potential to slow down the pace of soil degradation and
boost food production in Katsina State was therefore investigated.
Multistage stratified sampling was used to select respondents for the study.
Three Local Government Areas (LGAs) were randomly selected from each of the
agro-ecological zones (Sahel, Sudan and Guinea) of Katsina State. Within each
of the selected LGAs, one community was randomly selected and forty
respondents were randomly sampled from each community. Using structured
questionnaire, information was sought on the socio-economic and demographic
characteristics of respondents, Agroforestry Practices (AP), attitude to AP,
information sources on AP and AP perceived benefits. Chemical characteristics
of soil samples from agroforestry and non-agroforestry plots of respondents in
the three zones were also determined using standard methods. Data were
analysed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square and ANOVA at p = 0.05.
Most of the respondents (96.3%) were married, 82.5% were male and 50.0%
were between 30 and 49 years of age. Their primary occupation was mostly
farming (66.1%) while modal annual farm size was 1 – 2 hectares. Means of
land acquisition was more by inheritance (50.8%) and 33.1% of the
respondents made an annual income of between N30,000.00 – 40,000.00. The
major farm enterprises were food crop production (74.1%), livestock (5.2%),
tree crops (0.6%) and various combinations of these (19.0%). Multipurpose
trees on farmland (79.2±11.1%), windbreaks (50.0±13.3%), woodlots
(49.7±3.9%), improved fallow in shifting cultivation (32.2±26.3%) and home
gardens (24.7±6.9%) were the common AP by the respondents. Benefits of AP to
the respondents included preservation of the environment (98.5%), provision of
fruits and leaves (98.3%), improvement of soil fertility (97.5%), erosion control
(97.5%), improvement of farmers income (95.8%) and provision of fodder
(92.7%). Also, 93.9% of the respondents reported increased yield of arable
crops from a mixed tree and arable crop farm. Majority of the respondents
(70.3%) identified scanty rainfall, land shortage and inadequate labour as
problems while 12.8%, 4.7% and 4.4% respectively identified each of the
problems as limiting AP. Although significant variation was observed in AP in
the zones, sources of information significantly impacted adoption of AP in
Sahel and Sudan but not in Guinea savanna zone. Significant variation was
observed in soil pH, total nitrogen, Mg2+, K+ and Na+ between agro-forestry and
non agro-forestry plots with soil nutrient and organic matter content skewing
in favour of agroforestry plots.
Agroforestry practices enrich the soil with important nutrients and prevent soil
erosion. The adoption of multipurpose trees on farmland in Katsina state will
help in preventing environmental degradation, desertification and enhance food
crop production.
AMONUM, J (2021). Agroforestry Practices And Their Potential Contributions To Soil Fertility And Food Production In Katsina State. Afribary. Retrieved from https://afribary.com/works/agroforestry-practices-and-their-potential-contributions-to-soil-fertility-and-food-production-in-katsina-state
AMONUM, JOSEPH "Agroforestry Practices And Their Potential Contributions To Soil Fertility And Food Production In Katsina State" Afribary. Afribary, 22 Apr. 2021, https://afribary.com/works/agroforestry-practices-and-their-potential-contributions-to-soil-fertility-and-food-production-in-katsina-state. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.
AMONUM, JOSEPH . "Agroforestry Practices And Their Potential Contributions To Soil Fertility And Food Production In Katsina State". Afribary, Afribary, 22 Apr. 2021. Web. 11 Oct. 2024. < https://afribary.com/works/agroforestry-practices-and-their-potential-contributions-to-soil-fertility-and-food-production-in-katsina-state >.
AMONUM, JOSEPH . "Agroforestry Practices And Their Potential Contributions To Soil Fertility And Food Production In Katsina State" Afribary (2021). Accessed October 11, 2024. https://afribary.com/works/agroforestry-practices-and-their-potential-contributions-to-soil-fertility-and-food-production-in-katsina-state