INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AND SOIL CONSERVATION PRACTICES AMONG SMALL-HOLDING FARMERS IN OGBIA

Abstract

The study investigated the indigenous knowledge and soil conservation practices among smallholder farmers in Ogbia LGA, Bayelsa State. The study's population comprised all smallholder farmers involved in arable crop production within Ogbia LGA. A purposive sampling technique was employed to select 80 farmers involved in arable crop production. We used the Indigenous Knowledge and Soil Conservation Practices Questionnaire (IKSCPQ) to gather data. The instrument underwent validation and reliability testing, achieving a reliability index of 0.84 via the Cronbach’s Alpha method. The research questions were addressed using mean and standard deviation, while the null hypotheses were evaluated through an independent sample t-test and ANOVA at the 0.05 significance level. The study's results indicated that the indigenous knowledge of soil conservation among male and female farmers involved in arable crop production varies marginally. The corresponding hypothesis, which revealed no noteworthy disparity, further confirms that gender does not play a decisive role in determining indigenous soil conservation knowledge among farmers. The study concluded that indigenous soil conservation practices are widely known, applied, and perceived as effective among smallholder farmers in the study area, regardless of gender, farming experience, or educational level. The study recommended, among others, that agricultural extension agencies and local government authorities should design and implement gender-inclusive training programmes to sustain and further enhance the already similar levels of indigenous knowledge among male and female farmers.