Analysis of Agroforestry Practices in Katsina State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

The study investigated agroforestry farming among some international organizations, the Nigerian Government, Kastina State Government, and farmers in Katsina State. The aim of the study was to provide baseline information on agroforestry practices in Kastina State. The practices undertaken by these bodies include the establishment of shelterbelts, windbreaks, and woodlots, others were reforestation/plantation establishment, trees on farmland, home gardens, and street planting. These bodies reforested a total of 11,0832 hectares of land through agroforestry and afforestation practices. The study covered the three agroecological zones of the state, namely Sahel, Sudan and Guinea savanna zones. Farmers were selected from twenty-seven villages, nine villages from each of the three agro ecological zones, thus giving a sample size of 450 farmers. The data collected were summarized and presented as ratio/frequencies/percentages/proportions/tables and subsequently subjected to chi-square test to verify the observations made. Variables pertaining to the farmers and their farming activities were investigated. The study has revealed that (i) agroforestry is not widely practiced by farmers in Katsina State as only 23 percent of the sampled farmers practiced it. (ii) Farmers who practiced agroforestry were mainly male and largely within 30-39 age cohort. (iii) agroforestry farmers cultivated an area of 609 hectares representing a mean of 6.2 hectares. The predominant agroforestry system practiced was maintaining multipurpose trees on cropland, windbreak, and multipurpose woodlot