Consequences of Environmental Pollution on Agricultural Productivity in Developing Countries: A Case of Nigeria

Abstract

Environmental pollution is a widespread problem that influences both human health and agricultural productivity. One of the greatest problems facing the world today is environmental pollution, which is increasing every year and causing grave and irreparable damage to the earth and human health. It is these conditions that make environmental pollution a major concern to the developing countries of the world, especially Nigeria. Environmental pollution results from the activities of man through the use of technology to manipulate the ecosystem or environment to meet his needs. Nigeria as a developing country has lost much of her habitable environment due to environmental degradation and pollution, which destroys crops and aquaculture through the contamination of waterways, ground water, and soil and causes flaring of associated gas. There is also rampant mismanagement of the land resources. These have significant negative conse­quences on crop yield and land productivity, which further impoverish the already poor farmers in these areas. With the increasing soil infertility as a result of the destruction of soil micro-organisms and dwindling agricultural produc­tiv­ity, farmers have been forced to abandon their land to seek non-existent alter­native means of livelihood. Therefore, this paper examines the nature of en­vi­ronmental pollution in the area and its consequences on agricultural produc­tiv­ity. Questionnaires were administered to elicit information on soil fertility, crop growth, and crop productivity. A total of 360 questionnaires were adminis­tered using a multistage sampling technique and analyzed using frequency ta­bles and percentages. Results show that environmental pollution reduces the level of soil nutrients and fertility (82%). Crop growth and crop yield are nega­tively affected by pollution (80%); therefore, agricultural productivity is nega­tively affected in Nigeria. The paper recommends, among other things, that efforts be made to im­mediately address the environmental problems of the country if any meaningful development is to be sustained.