Farmers’ awareness of the potential of vetiver grass for soil erosion control on Ogbomoso Agricultural Zone farmlands, south-western Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract Background Soil degradation remains a serious threat to agricultural production. With increase downpour due to climate change effect, more farmlands are exposed to erosion. Therefore, ecologically sound strategies for erosion control are indispensable to farmers, to boost agricultural productivity. Results A multistage sampling technique was used to select the respondents for this study, and descriptive and inferential statistics were adopted to determine the farmers’ perception of the awareness, adoption and use of vetiver grass technology in controlling erosion in the study area. A total of four hundred valid questionnaires were subjected to analysis and the result shows that most of the farmers (29%) were between the ages of 41 and 50 years and the average age of the respondents stood at 45.5 years, implying that the farmers were in their productive and active age. Most of the respondents were male and married with an average household size of 5.2. Large number (76%) of the respondents had formal education, which the level ranged from primary to post-secondary education. Large proportion of the respondents engaged in private business as secondary occupation with an average income of $84.6 per cropping season. The effectiveness of vetiver grass adoption and use was significantly influenced by age (P < 0.1), gender (P < 0.01), marital status (P < 0.05), level of education (P < 0.01) and income of the respondents (P < 0.05). Most of the respondents within the ages of 41–50 years were aware of the erosion control potentials of vetiver grass and adopted the grass because it was cheap and affordable, easy to cultivate and maintain, and readily available and perceived to possess the potential effectiveness to control erosion. Conclusion Stakeholders are enjoined to increase the awareness of the vetiver grass for increased adoption and utilization, as many farmers were ignorant of the vetiver grass technology for erosion control in the study area.