Organic Farming Practices among Arable Crop Farmers in Imo State, Nigeria
Abstract: This study examined the level of use of organic farming practices among arable crop farmers in Imo State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study described the socio-economic characteristics of farmers and assessed the level of use of organic farming practices by farmers in the study area. Multistage and random sampling techniques were used to select 176 arable crop farmers for the study. Primary data was used for the research and collected using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, such as frequency, percentage, and mean score, and inferential statistics, such as multiple regression analysis, were used in data analyses. Findings showed that the farmer's mean age was 52.4 years.Exactly 90.3% of the farmers were educated. The farmers had a mean household size of 6 persons. The mean annual income of the farmers wasN386,789.52, while the mean farm size and farming experience were 1.11hectares and 21.9 years, respectively. Mainly used organic farming practices were animal manure ( = 3.28), inter cropping ( = 3.51), farm sanitation ( =3.51), minimum tillage ( = 2.73), crop rotation ( = 2.59), and spot bush burning ( = 2.68).The study found a significant effect of socioeconomic characteristics on organic farming practices. The study concluded that the selected socioeconomic characteristics of the farmers influenced their use of organic farming practices. The study recommended a stronger farmers-to-extension workers connection in the state and that farmers be encouraged by the agricultural extension service to participate in farmers’ cooperatives as these will help boost farmers’ understanding of the importance of organic farming practices and their use and the need for sensitization of arable crop farmers in Imo state by extension workers on the use of green manure, cover cropping,composting, mulching, biological control of pests and diseases, zero tillage and use of organic pesticides.
Keywords: organic farming;level of use;arable crop farmers;agriculture; Imo State.
Ezechi F. Eze
Michael Okpara University of AgricultureUmudike, Abia State, Nigeria
francis.eze@mouau.edu.ng