Improving the traditional landuse system through agro-biotechnology: a case study of adoption of vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM) by resource-poor farmers in Nigeria

Abstract

Soils undergo rapid degradation because the humid and sub-humid tropical areas are dominated by low activity clay soils, which are low in available nutrients. Statistics that are available have shown that infertility is a common problem in the tropics when the forests are opened to cultivation. Continuous cultivation of these soils without adequate nutrient replenishment would result in steady decline of crop productivity. Also, the land area per capita is continually on the decline because of rapid population increase and other economic changes. Thus, the farmers in Nigeria, particularly, the resource-poor farmers, are faced with the problem of restricted access to good agricultural land. For this set of farmers, the practice of high input of fertilizer is not feasible, owing to the high cost and scarcity of supply in Nigeria. This paper therefore suggests intensification of landuse through a strategy involving proper residue use or tree pruning management with vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM).