Assessment of the use of Soil Improvement Management Practices among Arable Farmers in Egbedore Local Government Area, Osun State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed the use of soil improvement practices among arable crop farmers in Egbedore Local Government Area of Osun State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected from one hundred and twenty farmers randomly from six communities through the use of structured interview schedule. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. The results show that most of the farmers were between the ages of 21 and 60 years with mean age of 43.5. The large household size of respondents indicates that farmers depended more on family members for labour. The soil improvement practices which were mainly used by the respondents were: bush fallowing, mixed cropping, mulching, animal droppings and application of NPK fertilizer. The use of compost, superphosphates were not common among the arable crop farmers in the study area. Majority (72.5%) of the respondents preferred using planting systems as soil improvement practices. The .result of the correlation analysis shows that there was significant relationship between respondents’ farming experience, level of education and the use of soil improvement practices at P ≤ 0.05 and P ≤ 0.01 respectively. The numbers of soil improvement practices used was determined by the years of formal education and years of farming experience. There was a significant relationship between the level of skill and knowledge of respondents in any soil improvement practice (r = 0.772; P ≤ 0.01). This implies that the use of any of the soil improvement practice is determined by the level of knowledge and skill of the farmer on that practice. It was recommended that farmers should be trained enhancing skills and improving knowledge of different planting systems, preparation of organic practices and proper use of both organic and inorganic fertilizers.