| Sumario: | In Nigeria, soil degradation has been one of t
he most critical environmental problems for a long
time.
Hence, there has been and still is an urgent need t
o develop effective soil resource management system
s
that can reverse the trend and sustain soil product
ivity to enhance food security and alleviate povert
y. An
extensive literature search that started in 2006 ha
s shown that soil conservation has a long tradition
and
earlier and present initiatives have resulted in va
rious so-called on-farm and off-farm
technologies.
Indigenous techniques focused on soil and water con
servation by ridging, mulching, constructing earth
bunds and terraces, multiple cropping, fallowing, a
nd the planting of trees. In colonial times, large-
scale
projects on soil loss control were started by the B
ritish Government but many failed, as the imported
technologies had little relevance in the tropics. A
fter independence, more emphasis was put on soil
fertility issues. Decreasing funds at the end of th
e oil boom in the 1980s also restricted soil conser
vation
schemes. The review also revealed that most of the
projects on soil conservation were carried out on
research farms and only a few on-farm with the part
icipation of farmers.
As these have rarely been evaluated to establish ad
option rates, an assessment study was performed in
2007 to analyze the effectiveness and adoption of p
ast and present soil conservation initiatives, incl
uding
the sociological, technological, and economic aspec
ts. Villages with different types of conservation
technologies were visited and farmers in southwest
Nigeria were interviewed to obtain information on t
heir
experiences. Mulching, cover cropping, and contour
tillage are likely to be effective on-farm soil
conservation measures practiced in Nigeria. They ar
e generally adopted by farmers as they are
compatible with the existing farming system, cheap
and easy to install and to maintain. Agroforestry i
s not
popular and cut-off drainage is often rejected as i
t is culturally incompatible. Education, knowledge
on soil
conservation, labor availability, and membership in
organizations have a positive influence on the
adoption rate of technologies.
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