Effect of Land Degradation on Maize Yield in Obudu Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria
Abstract
This study analysed the effects of land Degradation on maize yield in Obudu Local Government Area (LGA) of Cross River State. The study adopted the use of primary data and the instrument of data collection was a structured questionnaire administered on100 and 60 respondents for maize farmers in degraded and non-degraded lands respectively. The methods of data analysis used were both descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics results on socio-economic characteristics shows that majority (67.0%) of the maize farmers were males, married (86.0%) and had mean age of 43.6years. Result on land degradation types revealed erosion (2.27), flooding (2.11) and desertification (2.02) as most common types of land degradation experienced by maize farmers in the study area. Over-grazing (35.0%) and poor farming method (35.0%) were the major causes of land degradation. Independent sample t-test statistic result comparing maize yield of degraded and non-degraded lands indicated a t-calculated value of 13.100 at 0.05 level of significance, implying significant difference in maize output between degraded and non-degraded lands in the study area. The OLS multiple regression model result with linear functional form as best fit equation of factors affecting output of maize, revealed coefficient of multiple determination (R squared) value of 0.840 which is an indication that 84.0% of the variation in maize output cultivated on degraded lands is explained by explanatory variables included in the regression model viz: cost of fertilizer (-0.002) and cost of seed (-0.006), all significant at 5% confidence level. The value of F-statistic (27.535) was significant at 1% significance level which explains that the explanatory variables jointly had effect on maize yield, therefore the null hypothesis was rejected and the alternate hypothesis accepted. The study recommended subsidization of fertilizer and seed cost for sustainability/better yield in maize production.
NAJ supports free online communication and exchange of knowledge as the most effective way of ensuring that the fruits of research and development practice are made widely available. It is therefore committed to open access, which, for authors, enables the widest possible dissemination of their findings and, for readers, increases their ability to discover pertinent information. The Journal adopts and uses the CC: BY license and is open access. This license lets others distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the Journal’s published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Copyright for articles published in this Journal is retained by the Journal.
