Analysis of Sustainable Agricultural Resource Use in Nigeria: An Ecological Footprint Approach

Abstract

The study analyzed sustainable agricultural resource use in Nigeria using the Ecological Footprint Approach. The results showed that the emergy density of the earth and the country were 3.10E+10 sej/m2/year and 1.33E+11 sej/m2/year respectively, indicating that a total energy of 3.10E+10 sej was used up per meter square of the total global hectares to provide for the ecosystem services. Given the interaction of the renewable resource flows a total energy of 1.33E+11sej was expended in the transformation of agricultural resources per meter square of the land area of the country. The demand for resources per capita were 5.25ha of arable land, 2.54 ha of pasture land, 0.816ha of water area, 0.131 ha of forest land, 2.6ha of fossil land and 0.0000481 ha of built-up area with a total ecological footprint of 11.3 hectares per capita; while carrying capacity per capita was 5.2 hectares, showing a deficit of -6.1 hectares per capita and indicating unsustainable agricultural resource use - hence sustainable development cannot be achieved. The study however recommended that ecological farming, organic farming and other sustainable agricultural systems that reduce the footprint for arable land should be adopted in the country, and that Nigeria should strategize ways of reducing the importation and consumption of foreign food crops and encourage local food crop farmers – as this will reduce the ecological footprint of the country, and to ensure that agricultural resources are sustainable every citizen of the country should adjust his/her lifestyle so as to reduce consumption by 6.1 hectares per person, preserve and conserve agricultural resources for the current use and the future generation – as this will not only secure sustainable use of agricultural resources but pave ways to achieving sustainable development in the country.