Adoption of organic farming practices in the rural household of South-South, Nigeria—a case study

Abstract

Comparative analysis of organic farming practices among farmers in South-South, Nigeria, was carried out. A review of previous studies on organic farming practices showed that little effort has been made by researchers to capture South-South agricultural zone. There is scarcely any empirical data on organic farming practices used by crop, livestock, and fish farmers in the study area. This has created a gap in knowledge which the outcome of this study intends to bring out. This study did not only determine whether there is difference in organic farming practices among farmers in the different states under study but assessed the farmers level of awareness and use of organic farming practices, and relationship between the level of use of organic farming practices and the farmers’ socio-economic characteristics. Multistage random selection technique was used to select rural household farmers engaged in fish, livestock, and crop production. A sample of four hundred and eighty farmers was used. Organic farming practices among crop farmers included the use of farmyard manure ( $$ \overline{x} $$ = 2.79), inter cropping ( $$ \overline{x} $$ = 2.58), mulching ( $$ \overline{x} $$ = 2.50), and spot bush burning ( $$ \overline{x} $$ = 2.50). The organic farming practices among livestock farmers were access to fresh drinking water ( $$ \overline{x} $$ = 2.77) and adequate feeding ( $$ \overline{x} $$ = 2.65). Fish farmers engaged in the use of three organic practices: eco-friendly design ( $$ \overline{x} $$ = 2.56), site being far from polluting substances ( $$ \overline{x} $$ = 2.57) and pond protection from predators ( $$ \overline{x} $$ = 2.70). There were significant differences in the farmers’ level of use of organic farming practices based on their states of origin (Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, and Delta). Education, age, and income were the socio-economic determinants of the level of use of organic farming practices. It was concluded that farmers’ in Akwa Ibom state engaged more in the use of organic farming practices, followed by Bayelsa state and the least is Delta state.