Natural resource management practices utilized by small scale farmers for improved farm productivity in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed the level of natural resource management practices utilized by small scale farmers for improved farm productivity in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. To carry out the study, three specific purposes were developed and three research questions were answered by the study. Survey study design was adopted. The population for the study consisted of 2,337 registered small scale farmers in Bayelsa State. Multistate random sampling technique was used to select 80 small scale farmers that constituted the sampling frame for the study. The instrument for data collection was a 31-item structured questionnaire titled: Water and Vegetation Management Questionnaire (SWVMQ). The instrument was face-validated by three experts. Cronbach Alpha reliability method was used to determine the internal consistency of the instrument which yielded a coefficient of 0.73. From the data collected and analysed, it was found that the level at which soil, water and vegetation management practices are being utilized by farmers for improving farm productivity in Bayelsa State is still relatively low. Hence, the study among others recommended that: there should be more proactive awareness creation among the farmers by government functionaries in the state on the danger of continued neglect of soil, water and vegetation management by the farmers on food security in the area, and that the farmers should be empowered by relevant government agencies and concerned non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to imbibe the culture of management practices in soil, water and vegetation management in their farm lands.