Assessment of farm management methods for sustainable yam production in Nigeria

Abstract

Farm management strategies are of substantial significance in agriculture, with the inherent values of the farmers’ adaptive knowledge in achieving sustainable yam production. This study focused on assessment of farm management practices in Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria. Twelve farm settlements, where bulk of yam production is produced, were selected by purposive sampling method. However, simple random sampling was used to select ten yam farmers in each of the sampled settlements. In all, 120 farmers were sampled and administered with copies of structured questionnaire. Simple percentages and Likert Scale were adopted to examine farmers’ notions on farm management methods. Results reveal that; (i) majority of farmers fall within the age group of active labour, highest composition of male farmers indicates categories of gender with enabling strength for yam farming, low educational status could point to prevalence of crude mode of production (ii) out of the 9 farming methods adopted by farmers; mixed cropping, regular weeding and burning of farm waste to add potash to soil ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively (iii) inadequate access to capital (2.78), Low/late Rainfall (2.45), and soil degradation (2.53) are the limiting factors on yam production. It was concluded that farm management methods in the study are considered important to yam cropping at varying degrees. It was, however, recommended that the limiting factors should be improved upon by the farmers for sustainable farming practice and in achieving