Drivers of Households’ Decision Making in Agroforestry Practices in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Abstract

The increased pressure on the world natural resources has resulted in unsustainable use of natural resources, environmental instability and soil degradation. This study investigated the drivers of agroforestry practices in Eket agricultural zone of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Data were collected by the use of structured questionnaires. Simple random sampling was adopted in the selection of 102 farm households from Eket agricultural zone of Akwa Ibom State. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and probit model. The result showed that the average year of formal education was 11.86, with the mean age of 44.46. Also, the mean score of 2.61 suggest that majority of the respondents were aware of agroforestry practices. The probit analysis indicates that factors such as marital status, farming experience, educational level and land ownership status had positive and significant effects on their decision to adopt agroforestry practices. Conversely, total household income had a negative and statistically significant effect on farmers’ decision to adopt agroforestry. Socio-economic characteristics such as marital status, educational level, farming experience and land ownership status were the major drivers of household’s decision making in agroforestry in the study area.