Poor Farming Practices and Environmental Degradation in Central Senatorial District of Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study is aimed at investigating various farming practices that propagate environmental degradation in the study area. The design adopted for the study is survey inferential research. This design is appropriate for data collection and analysis. The area studied is the Central Senatorial District (CSD) of Cross River State, Nigeria. This district is made up of six (6) Local Government councils: Abi, Boki, Etung, Ikom, Obubra, and Yakurr Local Government Areas. The population of the study is 687 farmers, which comprises of 344 male and 343 female, who were randomly selected. The instrument for data collection is a well-structured questionnaire titled Farmers’ Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ). It is divided into four (4) point scale ranging between Very adequate (VA), Adequate (A), Faire Adequate (FA), and Inadequate (IA). The questionnaire was made up of fifteen (15) items arranged in a four (4) point Likert scale. One-way Analysis of Variance was used for the data analysis, and the result revealed that continuous cultivation has a significant influence on environmental degradation. It was also revealed in the second hypotheses that poor tillage practices influence environmental degradation in the study area. It was recommended that Agricultural Extension Officers should educate the farmers on how to improve on their mode of farming; and they should also alert them on the ills of unsustainable farming practices of continuous cultivation and poor tillage system. It was also recommended that environmental education outline should be introduced into the primary and secondary school curriculum.