ABSTRACT

This study determined farmers’ attitude and adoption of soil degradation preventive measures in Abia state, Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study were to identify the causes of soil degradation; estimate the loss in income of farmers as a result of soil degradation; identify the various measures used by farmers in preventing or reducing soil degradation and the cost incurred; estimate the determinants of adoption of soil degradation adaptation measures; determine factors that influence individuals farmers’ attitude towards preventing soil degradation; and identify the constraints of farmers to preventing soil degradation in the study area. Primary data used in this study were collected using questionnaire that was administered to 120 randomly selected farmers in the study area. Descriptive statistical tools, probit model and ordinary least square regression method were used in analyzing the data. The result of the study showed that the mean age of farmers was 45 years, with 61% of the farmers being male while 39% were females. Majority (75%) of the farmers were married while the mean farm size was 2.8 Ha. The study also showed that 97% of the farmers in the study area were literate with different formal educational levels ranging from primary school education to tertiary education while 72% and 70% of the farmers indicated membership of association and received extension services, respectively and 74% of them had access to credit. Using the mean cut-off of 3.0, the major causes of soil degradation in the study area were deeply excavated subsoil and overburden with materials, extremely eroded due to deforestation and loss of biodiversity leading to attendant soil loss. The impact of soil degradation on the income of farmers showed that 82.8% of the farmers responded to poor soil fertility; 81.08% responded to low farm income; 70.2% on loss of crop output/fruit trees; 66.6% on loss of farmlands and forest biodiversity. The various measures adopted by the farmers for the prevention of soil degradation in the study area with the cost implications of such adoptions were the use of organic manure with total cost incurred as ₦777,100 and average cost of ₦9963 per farmer; planting of leguminous/cover crop with corresponding total cost incurred as ₦380,750: use of inorganic fertilizer and planting of trees with the corresponding average costs by individual farmers as ₦15869 and ₦8225, respectively. The determinants of adoption of soil degradation adaptation measures were income, education level, farming experience, extension contact, and age while the determinants of factors that influence individuals farmers’ attitude towards preventing soil degradation were farm size, extension contact, farming experience, age, education, farm income, and number of soil degradation experienced. Inadequate knowledge on how to cope with soil degradation, and limited income were the major constraints in remediating soil degradation. The study recommended the need for agricultural programme that will involve educating and empowering farmers on reducing soil degradation activities, government intervention in the remediation of soil degraded areas as this will reduce the high cost incurred by farmers in the use of soil conservation techniques.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Soil constitutes the foundation for agricultural development, essential ecosystem functions and food security and hence is key to sustaining life on earth (United Nations, 2013). Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) (2015) defined soil as the natural medium for the growth of plants. Soil has also been defined as a natural body consisting of layers (soil horizons) that are composed of weathered mineral materials, organic material, air and water (Gomiero, 2016). Soil degradation is one of the most serious ecological and environmental problems in South East Nigeria (Kouelo et al., 2015). Therefore, soil degradation represents a major threat to food production and environment conservation, especially in tropical and sub-tropical regions.

FAO (2015) defined soil degradation as a change in the soil health status resulting in a diminished capacity of the ecosystem to provide goods and services for its beneficiaries. Degraded soils have a health status such that they do not provide the normal goods and services of the particular soil in its ecosystem. Oldeman et al. (1991) in The Global Assessment of Soil Degradation (GLASOD) described soil degradation as “a human- induced phenomenon”, and point out that in a general sense soil degradation could be described as the deterioration of soil quality: the partial or entire loss of one or more soil functions. Soil degradation, therefore, refers to a broad spectrum of changes in soil characteristics because of natural or anthropogenic factors that alter their structure and quality, including deforestation and the removal of natural vegetation, agricultural activities, overgrazing, overexploitation of vegetation for domestic use, and industrial activities (FAO, 2015; DeLong et al., 2015 and Karlen and Rice, 2015).

Soil degradation can occur through the following processes: physical (i.e., erosion, compaction), chemical (i.e., acidification, salinization) and biological (i.e., loss of soil organic matter, loss of biodiversity) (Gomiero, 2016). The factors that determine the kind of degradation are as follows: soil inherent properties (i.e., physical, chemical), climate (i.e., precipitation, temperature), the characteristics of the terrain (i.e., slope, drainage) and the vegetation (i.e., biomass, biodiversity) (Lal, 2015; Okorafor et al., 2017). The causes of soil degradation are complex and can be of a different nature: biophysical (i.e., land use, cropping system, farming practices, deforestation), socioeconomic (i.e., institutions, markets, poverty), and political (i.e., policies, political instability, and conflicts) (Lal and Stewart, 2012; Barrett and Bevis, 2015 and FAO, 2015).

Oldeman et al. (1991) also distinguish two categories of human-induced soil degradation processes which include soil degradation by displacement of soil material involving water erosion and wind erosion while the second category of soil degradation deals with internal soil physical and chemical deterioration. Soil degradation by water seems to be the greatest factor limiting soil productivity and impeding agricultural enterprise in the entire humid tropical region (Abe et al., 2010) such as Nigeria. This is evident in many regions of Africa, mainly in the humid and sub-humid zones of Sub- Saharan Africa (SSA) where population pressure and deforestation exacerbate the situation and the rains come as torrential downpours, with the annual soil loss put at over 50 tons/ha (Ikazaki et al., 2011). In Sub-Saharan Africa, the problem is not limited to water erosion as wind erosion prevails mainly in the semiarid and arid zones. For instance, soil loss to wind erosion of 58–80/ hahas recently been reported from the West African Sahel (Obalum et al., 2012). Both forms of erosion can thus aptly define soil degradation in the region.

The overall effects of soil degradation pose a major threat to food security especially in poor regions. All the adverse impacts on agronomic productivity and environmental quality are due to decline in soil quality. FAO (2015) highlights that there is a strong relation between soil degradation and poverty. It is therefore necessary to understand farmers’ attitude towards preventing soil degradation and adopt practices to improve soil health.

Onima (2017) defined attitude as a way of thinking, acting or feeling of a person towards a situation or cause. Fakoya (2007) defined attitude as the predisposition to feel, think or act in a particular way with some degree of consistency. The way people hold and regard the environmental resources and systems will determine their attitude towards environmental changes and actions (Nigerian Environmental Study Team- NEST, 2011). Stroup and Baden (1983) have argued a strong relationship that exist between beliefs, values, and norms and human attitude to environmental management practices while Kerhoft (1990) observed that environment, income level, age and some human capital such as educational level influences attitude to environmental management practices of which soil is a major component. The attitude of an individual plays an important role in determining ones behaviour. It can be related to the degree of encouraging or depressing feeling of the farmers towards preventing soil degradation. Recent changes in soil characteristics structure and affecting agricultural production and the environment have heightened the value of decision analysis and accessing attitude of farmers in preventing soil degradation (Boehlje and Lins, 1998) while Bard and Barry (2000) reported that assessing the scientific attitude of measures and comparing the scale to the farmers’ self-assessment of their risk attitudes faced in the challenge of soils degradation is very important.

According to Fakoya et al. (2007) the evolving trend in contemporary farm management suggests a cursory look at the attitude of farmers towards preventing soil degradation by practicing sustainable soil management practices. Soil degradation has become an important issue for both farmers and research and extension services of which many technological both indigenous ones and institutional innovations that can solve soil degradation have been developed yet, it seem these innovations do not seem to be generally successful (Wennink et al., 2000; Douthwaite et al., 2002) or apparently, the nature and extent of soil degradation are poorly understood. However, today, lack of experience, poor knowledge and poor technology are not valid reasons that can excuse us for spoiling our soils.

According to Enete et al. (2011), adoption is an adjustment made to a human, ecological or physical system in response to a perceived vulnerability. Innovation adoption is key to increasing farm productivity. Adoption of climate change mitigating strategies are key to coping and building resilience against the vagaries of climate change (Iheke and Agodike, 2016).

Adoption of sustainable land management practices plays a critical role in achieving food security, household income and poverty reduction through reducing soil erosion and improving soil fertility. However, studies reveals that farmers adoption of land management practices/technologies at lower rate and more often they disadopt them (ELD Initiative, 2013). Adoption of conservation technology should not be regarded as an end in itself, but rather as a continuous decision-making process. Individuals pass through various learning and experimenting stages from awareness of the problem and its potential solutions and finally deciding whether to adopt or reject the given technology (Tesfaye, 2017). Adoption of new technology normally passes through four different stages, which include awareness, interest, evaluation, and finally adoption (Rogers and Shoemaker 1971). At each stage, there are various constraints (social, economic, physical, or logistical) for different groups of farmers.

Adoption of agricultural technologies is affected by various factors, usually categorized into; farm specific characteristics, technology specific attributes, and farmer’s socioeconomic characteristics. while some of these factors increase adoption; others reduce adoption; while others have mixed effects (Olwande et al., 2009; Tesfaye, 2017).

As experienced in Nigeria, population pressure poses major challenges both on natural resources such as soil thus in a context of high urbanization and lack of farming systems intensification, agricultural growth model on which the countries of Africa sub-Saharan are based, in more than a generation, is not sustainable over time. It led to a collapse of the soil productivity and accelerated degradation of natural resources (Blein et al., 2008; Simard-Rousseau, 2012; Okoraforet al., 2017). Studies have addressed the problem of natural resource degradation in tropical agro-ecosystems (Ranaivomanana, 2008; Traoré and Toé, 2008; Ouédraogo et al. 2009; Obalum et al., 2012; Uchegbu et al., 2017).

Preserving and maintaining soil fertility are, more than ever, a matter of survival, and a very important factor towards achieving food security. In addition, the sustainability of soils is key to addressing the pressures of a growing population, and thus to a food- secure world and to stable and sustainably used ecosystems (United Nations-UN, 2013), can cause an increase in economic growth through increase in agricultural products, biodiversity, causes sustainable agriculture and food security, which in turn are key to eradicating poverty (Onima, 2017).

1.2    STATEMENT OF PROBLEM 

Soil is a valuable resource for humans, as human life depends on the soil’s generosity (Kouelo et al., 2015). It is a critical input in agricultural production which is determined by its characteristics such as availability, quality etc. These characteristics are major determinant of soil productivity due to the problems associated with using indigenous soil conservation practices that can improve its quality. Soil degradation, therefore, poses a threat to food security, as it reduces yield, forces farmers to use more inputs, and may eventually lead to soil abandonment. Understanding farmers’ attitude towards soil degradation through quality use and management of soil are important indicators for the sustainability of this resource, which will increase soil productivity and food security.

The negative effects of soil degradation encourage impoverishment of farmers because the rural poor, who depend on the environmental resources for survival, will be pushed into more poverty when there are severe soil productivity losses leading to agricultural product losses and loss of livelihood thereby, affecting farmers’ income.

Therefore, in a situation where rural farmers and communities are exposed to soil degradation, it is important to understand how rural people may be affected, their attitudes towards reducing it and what must be done to address their vulnerability to these exposures. To address these issues, this study attempted to address the following questions:

i)  what are the causes of soil degradation in the study area?;

ii)  what are the effects of soil degradation on arable crops?; 

iii)  what are the various measures used by farmers in preventing soil degradation and the cost incurred?;

iv)    what are the determinants of various adoption measures used by farmers in preventing of soil degradation?;

v)  what are the attitudes of farmers towards preventing soil degradation?; 

vi)    what are the factors that influence farmers’ attitude towards preventing soil degradation?; and

vii)  what are the constraints to farmers’ attitude towards preventing soil degradation in the study area?

1.3  OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The broad objective of the study is to determine farmers’ attitude and adoption of soil degradation preventive measures in Abia State, Nigeria. The specific objectives are to:

i)  identify and classify the causes of soil degradation prevalent in the study area;

ii)  examine the effects of soil degradation on arable crops by the respondents; 

iii)  identify the various measures used by farmers in preventing soil degradation and the various costs incurred;

iv)  estimate the determinants of adoption measures used by farmers in preventing soil degradation;

v)   investigate the attitude of farmers towards preventing soil degradation; 

vi)     determine factors that influence farmers’ attitude towards preventing soil degradation; and

vii)  identify the constraints encountered by farmers in preventing soil degradation in the study area.

1.4  RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

The following hypotheses were tested in this study: 

H1: Income, education level, farming experience, and extension contact positively influenced the adoption level of soil degradation preventive measures, while age of the farmer negatively influenced adoption level of soil degradation preventive measures.

H2: Farm size, extension contact, and farming experience positively influenced farmers’ attitude towards preventing soil degradation while age, marital status, farm income and number of soil degradation experienced negatively influenced farmers’ attitude towards preventing soil degradation.

1.5  JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY 

This study aims at having better understanding of farmers’ attitude towards preventing soil degradation and how policies implemented by governments may affect household decisions in order to guide policy makers in their search for effective and efficient environmental policies, while addressing social concerns. An understanding of farmers’ attitude towards preventing soil damage is necessary for the formulation of policies and trainings by the government and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s) towards achieving efficient and sustainable use of the environment and its resources such as soil.

The study will help to bring new light to decision-makers and government in formulating more environmental policies targeting sustainable indigenous soil conservation practices, it will also benefit the government in formulating policies, budgets and providing measures to assist farmers in agricultural programmes geared towards improving soil fertility and food security. It will also contribute to the body of knowledge and literature on the extent of soil degradation in Abia State, farmers’ attitude, and measures of preventing soil degradation and changes that exist in their income, productivity, and food security.