Socio-economic analysis of crop-livestock integration in North-western Nigeria savannah

Forest reserve and grazing reserve are becoming an endangered resource all over the world. This is particularly the case in developing countries, where their importance has been underestimated. The mismanagement of such reserves has led to deforestation and land degradation with accompanying dire environmental consequences. The general opinion has been that production practices adopted by farmers in a reserve are the major factors affecting good management and the prevention of degradation. The book provides empirical analysis of the factors driving the adoption of various farm production practices in the Zamfara grazing reserve and the impact of these practices on crop productivity. The book also quantitatively determined the best management practices that will enhance sustainability in the use of the reserve. The results of the study have shown that manure contracting as an option is a better soil fertility maintenance strategy than the crop-livestock combination since manure contracting based farming demands less land and will therefore results in less deforestation and degradation to the reserve. Manure contracting will therefore help in preserving the biodiversity of the Zamfara grazing reserve.