Assessment of Effects of Land Degradation on Productivity of Arable Crop Farmers in Selected Local Government Areas of Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed the farmers’ level of awareness of land degradation (LD), determinant of LD, effect of LD on total factor productivity and, the mitigating measures adopted against LD. The study employed cross-sectional research design. Primary data were retrieved from 180 arable crop farmers while descriptive statistics were employed to assess the level of awareness and mitigating measures. Land degradation indices, total factor productivity and fractional and ordinary least square regression techniques were modelled to analyse the determinants and effects of LD on their productivity, respectively. The results showed that the level of awareness of LD problem was high among the farmers. The major determinants of land degradation in the area included bush burning, cropping system, system of land usage, soil structure, tillage and topography. In addition, the severity scale of bush burning was the lowest while that of topography was the highest. Moreover, LD, age of farmers, amount of credit accessed, agro-chemicals and labour-use tend to reduce the productivity of the farmers in the area. The arable crop farmers mitigated the effect of LD in the area mostly through terracing and avoidance of bush burning. Based on these findings, it is recommended that the government of Nigeria should focus on policies that can enhance sustainable land management and hence, increase productivity of the farmers in the area.