Agroforestry Practices among Farmers in South West Nigeria: An Analysis of Benefits

Abstract

The study examined the benefits of agroforestry practices among farmers in South West Nigeria. It highlighted the extent of agroforestry, the ownership and management of agroforestry practices, the utilization and sustainability of the practices, the benefits derived from agroforestry, as well as the challenges faced by farmers practising agroforestry. In the study area, multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 200 agroforestry farmers, while a validated structured questionnaire was used with other participatory techniques to obtain the required data. Descriptive and inferential statistics which include Pearson Product-Moment Correlation and T- test analyses were used to analyse the data. Most of the respondents (82%) are married and the respondents mean age was 52 years. Majority of the respondents had formal education while 92 percent are involved in farming as their primary occupation. The analysis in the study area revealed the growing adoption of agroforestry with sustained environmental and economic benefits. The mean income before and after adoption of agroforestry practices were $1462.89 and $2131.82, respectively. It was shown that various determinants cutting across personal factors, social factors and environmental factors contributed to adoption and sustainability of agroforestry practices in the study area. Given the fact that farmers derived substantial benefits from the practice, the avenue of agroforestry practice could further be effectively exploited to enhance sustainable food production and environmental management.