SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS INFLUENCING LAND DEGRADATION AND CONSERVATION PRACTICES AMONG SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN OYO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Land degradation is considered one of the major problems to achieving food security in Nigeria and also achieving the Sustainable Development Goal one and two. The study was carried out to examine the influence of socio-economic factors influencing land degradation and sustainable conservation management practices among smallholder farmers in Oyo State, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select respondents with a well-structured questionnaire using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed that 57.5% of respondents were male, 33.3% were above 51 years, with the mean year of 43.3 years and 46.0% had no formal education. Most respondents (96.6%) operate a smallholder farm of 1–5 acres, 39.1% privately owning land, while others relied on leasehold (29.9%), rented land (19.5%), or communal arrangements (11.5%), majority (48.3%) depended on family labour, land tenure insecurity discouraged long-term soil conservation, with 83.9% affirming that unclear boundaries and communal land use complicated land management. The inferential statistics revealed that years of farming experience (β = 1.429, p < 0.01), household size (β = 1.454, p < 0.05), and income (β = 2.263, p < 0.10) as significant positive determinants of land degradation and R² was 0.59. It was however concluded that limited income, market access, and sustainable practices such as crop rotation, composting, agroforestry, manure application, soil testing, inadequate extension services and insecure land tenure were the factors influencing land degradation and soil conservation. The study recommends targeted interventions such as credit facilities, land policy reforms, capacity-building programs, and improved market linkages to promote sustainable land management and enhance productivity in the study area.