FACTORS INFLUENCING THE ADOPTION OF LAND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES BY SMALL-SCALE SORGHUM FARMERS IN JIGAWA STATE, NIGERIA

The study examined the adoption of land management practices among small-scale sorghum farmers in Jigawa State, Nigeria. It focused on identifying land management practices, the factors influencing their adoption, and the challenges hindering their adoption. Primary data were collected with the help of a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression. Results showed that the majority of respondents were male (98.3%), who were married (96.3%), and had a mean age of 39 years. The average farming experience was 8 years. The majority (72.2%) of the farmers were members of agricultural cooperatives.Inorganic and organic fertilizer application, crop rotation, and irrigation were major land management practices. Factors that influenced land management practices were: age, farm size, number of farm plots, education, and household size.The adoption of land management practices was constrained by high costs of sorghum production inputs, poor transport infrastructure, low availability of improved sorghum seeds, and distance to the nearest market.Accordingly, farmers should be encouraged to diversify their land use. The government, as well as development agents, should educate farmers on ways to produce low-cost inputs to improve farming performance. Extension efforts should include advocacy for the adoption of sustainable and innovative land management practices, such as conservation tillage, cover cropping, irrigation, mixed cropping systems,and agroforestry, to enhance soil fertility and reduce soil erosion.