scholarly journals Farm Level Indicators of Sustainable Land Management: Effect on Agricultural Production in Oyo State, Nigeria

Author(s):  
I. O. Oyewo ◽  
J. O. Oladeebo ◽  
A. A. Adesope ◽  
M. O. Raufu

Farmland sustainability and increased agricultural production have been a major concern of average farmers in Nigeria especially in South Western part of the Country. The study examines the farm level indicators and their effects on agricultural production among rural farmers. Multi-stage methods of sampling technique were used to select fifty respondents for this study using a well-structured questionnaire. Data collected were analyzed by the use of descriptive such as means, percentage, standard deviation and fuzzy logic analysis. The result shows that average age of farmer, farm size, household size and farming experience are 52.28 years, 2.072 hectare, 6.80 and 29.42 years of farming experience respectively. The fuzzy logic method was used to compute the composite indicator of sustainable land use (ISLU) which was 0.2843 indicating that farmers' land management practices in the study area are generally sustainable with the current application of the indicators. Land fallowing, trends of vegetative cover, irrigation, pesticide used among others contributed a higher percentage of land use sustainability with about 3.8% each, while minimum tillage, cover crops, crop rotation and cassava cutting use had no contribution to land use sustainability. The study recommends that rural water should be made available and that informal training through extension services should be conducted to educate farmers on sustainable land management (SLM) practices in order to have a better environment and improve production in the study area.

2019 ◽  
Vol 648 ◽  
pp. 1462-1475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kindiye Ebabu ◽  
Atsushi Tsunekawa ◽  
Nigussie Haregeweyn ◽  
Enyew Adgo ◽  
Derege Tsegaye Meshesha ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
G. Ludemann ◽  
D.C. Hewson ◽  
R. Green

The North Otago area has a climate that often fluctuates from severe drought to flood in a short space of time. The climatic extremes, and some unsustainable land use practices can put the area's fragile loessial soils at risk of water and wind erosion. This paper outlines an approach used in North Otago which has enabled the community to identify its sustainability and environmental issues and begin to make changes to land use and farmer attitudes. A group of key farmers was brought together to oversee the preparation of Sustainable Land Management Guidelines for the downlands. (This group became the North Otago Sustainable Land Management Group - NOSLaM Group.) From this grew a wide-ranging community-driven project with a full-time co-ordinator, and a vision to have most land users adopting sustainable farming systems. This should ensure the area is ready to meet the world market demands for environmental quality in food and fibre production. The Group will promote individual environmental farm plans which will have a monitoring component. Some farmers will work towards some form of property accreditation such as ISO 14001. This pilot project will be highlighting the economic benefits of environmentally sound farming methods, through seminars, field-days, newsletters and a demonstration farm. The Group is working in partnership with farmers, the processing industry and marketing people to identify market opportunities for the area's food and fibre produced by environmentally friendly farming systems. Keywords: cultivation, environment, Environmental Farm Plans, erosion, guidelines, ISO 14001 accreditation, market opportunities, monitoring, sustainable land use, sustainability


Author(s):  
G.S. KUST ◽  
◽  
O.V. ANDREEVA ◽  
V.A. LOBKOVSKIY ◽  
V.D. SLAVKO

A brief historical overview of approaches to study the problem of land use and land degradation in the MAB UNESCO program is provided. Over the past 50 years these issues remain important although the general strategic approach to their research and solving has changed from a multilateral study of land management and land degradation in different geographic and socio-economic conditions with an emphasis on natural diversity, to practices and approaches of sustainable land management in biosphere reserves, as reflected in MAB Strategy (2015-2025) and Lima Action Plan (2016-2025). Many of the MAB initiatives in the field of sustainable land management and combating land degradation have been further reflected and revised in different international programs and conventions. The development of these approaches and the integration of the MAB program with other modern activities can significantly increase the effectiveness of the results of Strategic Direction “A” of the Lima Action Plan on the use of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves as models for sustainable development. Five objectives are proposed for closer cooperation of the MAB program and its network of biosphere reserves with other international and national measures for promoting sustainable land management practices and combating land degradation: 1) using biosphere reserves as priority sites and observatories for comparative assessments of indicators of land degradation neutrality (LDN) for protected areas and adjacent territories in similar bioclimatic conditions; 2) use of data obtained through the series of observations in the territory of protected areas as the most important additional or alternative indicators and measures for the LDN interpretation; 3) biosphere reserves as models for selecting effective solutions reflecting the triad of adaptive actions to avoid degradation, reduce the rate of degradation and restore previously degraded lands; 4) achieving LDN on the territory of biosphere reserves through the implementation of the Aichi biodiversity targets; 5) the use of LDN as a criterion for evaluating the effectiveness of the activities of biosphere reserves. Preliminary results of the LDN assessment for Central Chernozem State Natural Biosphere Reserve and Middle Volga Integrated Biosphere Reserve and their adjacent territories provided to demonstrate the possibility of performing some of the objectives listed.


Author(s):  
Generose Nziguheba ◽  
Julius Adewopo ◽  
Cargele Masso ◽  
Nsharwasi Leon Nabahungu ◽  
Johan Six ◽  
...  

SOIL ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Zornoza ◽  
J. A. Acosta ◽  
F. Bastida ◽  
S. G. Domínguez ◽  
D. M. Toledo ◽  
...  

Abstract. Soil quality (SQ) assessment has long been a challenging issue, since soils present high variability in properties and functions. This paper aims to increase the understanding of SQ through the review of SQ assessments in different scenarios providing evidence about the interrelationship between SQ, land use and human health. There is a general consensus that there is a need to develop methods to assess and monitor SQ for assuring sustainable land use with no prejudicial effects on human health. This review points out the importance of adopting indicators of different nature (physical, chemical and biological) to achieve a holistic image of SQ. Most authors use single indicators to assess SQ and its relationship with land uses – soil organic carbon and pH being the most used indicators. The use of nitrogen and nutrient content has resulted sensitive for agricultural and forest systems, together with physical properties such as texture, bulk density, available water and aggregate stability. These physical indicators have also been widely used to assess SQ after land use changes. The use of biological indicators is less generalized, with microbial biomass and enzyme activities being the most selected indicators. Although most authors assess SQ using independent indicators, it is preferable to combine some of them into models to create a soil quality index (SQI), since it provides integrated information about soil processes and functioning. The majority of revised articles used the same methodology to establish an SQI, based on scoring and weighting of different soil indicators, selected by means of multivariate analyses. The use of multiple linear regressions has been successfully used for forest land use. Urban soil quality has been poorly assessed, with a lack of adoption of SQIs. In addition, SQ assessments where human health indicators or exposure pathways are incorporated are practically inexistent. Thus, further efforts should be carried out to establish new methodologies to assess soil quality not only in terms of sustainability, productivity and ecosystem quality but also human health. Additionally, new challenges arise with the use and integration of stable isotopic, genomic, proteomic and spectroscopic data into SQIs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6365
Author(s):  
Alelgn Ewunetu ◽  
Belay Simane ◽  
Ermias Teferi ◽  
Benjamin F. F. Zaitchik

Sustainable land management (SLM) is a leading policy issue in Ethiopia. However, the adoption and continuous use of SLM technologies remain low. This study investigates the interrelationship of adopted SLM technologies and key factors of farmers’ decisions to use SLM technologies in the North Gojjam sub-basin of the Upper Blue Nile. The study was based on the investigation of cross-sectional data obtained from 414 randomly selected rural household heads, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. Descriptive statistics and Econometric models (i.e., Multivariate Probit and Poisson regression) were used to analyze quantitative data, while a content analysis method was used for qualitative data analysis. Results indicate that at least one type of SLM technology was implemented by 94% of farm households in the North Gojjam sub-basin. The most widely used technologies were chemical fertilizer, soil bund, and animal manure. Most of the adopted SLM technologies complement each other. Farm size, family size, male-headed household, local institutions, perception of soil erosion, livestock size, total income, and extension service increased the adoption probability of most SLM technologies. Plot fragmentation, household age, plot distance, off-farm income, market distance, and perception of good fertile soil discourage the adoption probability of most SLM technologies. To scale up SLM technologies against land degradation, it is important to consider households’ demographic characteristics, the capacity of farm households, and plot-level related factors relevant to the specific SLM technologies being promoted.


2019 ◽  
pp. 1-7

To understand how various factors influence phenological patterns like fruit production and the extent of phenological variability as survival strategy in different environments, fruit production of shea trees was studied in different agroclimatic zones (North Sudanian, South Sudanian and North Guinean) in Mali. Three sites were selected for this study and in each site; two stands (field and fallow) were concerned. For each stand, three “land use history or land management" i.e. new fields/fallows (1-5 years), medium (6-10 years) and old (10 years) were considered and permanent plots of 0.25 ha were established. 60 adult shea trees (DBH) ≥ 10 cm) were selected by site and monitored for fruit production assessment. The nested analysis of variance on the yield showed a significant site effect and significant effect of land use history within stand. However, stand effect within site was not significant. Factors like site and land management (land use history) appear to be determinant for fruit production of V. paradoxa. The site of Mperesso in the South Sudanian zone showed the highest fruit mean yield (11 kg/tree), significantly higher than the fruit mean yield observed at Daelan (7 kg/tree) in the North Sudanian zone and that observed at Nafégué (6 kg/tree) in the North Guinean zone. For field stand, old fields showed highest mean yield in all sites. For fallow stand, old fallows showed the lowest mean yield in most of cases. Different pattern was observed between field and fallow stands regarding the effect of land management. More fields are aged, more they influence positively fruit production whereas more fallows are aged, and more they influence negatively fruit production. This study highlighted the importance of land management practices and therefore, any domestication program to be successful should consider the potential effect of management practices.


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