COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF AGROFORESTRY AND MONOCROPPING FARMING PRACTICES IN AFIJIO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, OYO STATE
Durojaiye, Adenike M.; Oyedare, Olumide O. and Ogunjinmi, Olusola O.
Durojaiye, Adenike M.: Department of Agricultural Education, Emmanuel Alayande University Of Education, Oyo, Oyo State.
Oyedare, Olumide O.: Department of Forestry and Environmental Technology, Federal College of Forest Resources Management, Maiduguri, Borno State.
Ogunjinmi, Olusola O.: Department of Agricultural Education, Emmanuel Alayande University Of Education, Oyo, Oyo State.
ABSTRACT
Agroforestry has been recognized for its positive environmental impact including soil health improvement, water conservation and carbon sequestration whereas, Monocropping, the practice of cultivating a single crop species in the same area repeatedly, can offer short-term gains but poses long-term risks to soil fertility, biodiversity, and environmental health due to its reliance on synthetic inputs and increased vulnerability to pests and diseases. Therefore, this study aimed at comparing agroforestry with Mono-cropping system.
Structured questionnaire were used to obtain primary data from the respondents which were sampled based on multistage sampling procedures. Both descriptive and inferential analytical tools such as frequency, percentages, mean and regression were used to analyze data collected from 60 farmers (30 farmers each of monocropping and agroforestry) in Afijio Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria.
Results from the study revealed that both monocropping and agroforestry are male dominated ventures with a modal age of 21–40 years and household size of 4–6 members. Cashew and maize was the dominated crop used for both monocropping and agroforestry. Monocropping farmers earn a revenue of N348640.00 and make N131,008.35 as net profit annually while agroforestry farmers earn a revenue of N398,206.66 and make N200,415.14 as net profit annually. Source of finance and labour type had statistically significant effect on profitability in monocropping system. Likewise, age has a significant effect on the profitability of agroforestry. Limited supply of inputs, inadequate capital, limited use of machineries, unavailability of labour, land tenure problem, poor access to extension services were the major constraints faced by the respondents in the study area. In conclusion, the study revealed that agroforestry is highly profitable than monocropping in the study area. It is therefore recommended that solutions should be proffered to the constraints to agroforestry by concerned authorities to make the venture sustainable in meeting food demands all year round.
Keywords: Agroforestry, Efficiency, Marginalized farmers, Collateral, Silvopasture, Carbon sequestration.