Extent of use of sustainable land management practices by farmers in Ondo State

Abstract

The study identify the Sustainable Land Management Practices (SLMP) used by the farmers, examined the extent of their use, determine the relationships between farmers' selected characteristics and the extent of use of SLMP in Ondo state. Data were collected from 320 crop farmers using multi-stage sampling techniques which involved selecting farmers from zones, blocks and cells of Ondo State Agricultural Development Programme (ODSAPEP) Data were collected from the farmers with the assistance of the Village Extension Agents through the use of interview schedule and Focus Group Discussion. Variables were subjected to face and content validity and reliability test (r = 0.82) using test-re-test method. Eighteen SLMP were identified in the study. The findings revealed that 35.94% with raw scores between (18-27) were poorly used, 52.80% with raw scores (28-37) were moderately used and 9.38% with (38-46) were highly used. Using correlation analysis variables such as age, number of children, number of wives, farm size were positively related to the use of sustainable land management practices (SLMP), while variables such as migrant status, years of farming experience, fertility of land and changes in land composition were not significantly related to SLMP at 0.05 level of significance.

Keywords: extent of use, sustainable land management, multi-stage sampling technique

Moor Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 5(2) 2004: 180-187