Land degradation in Northern Nigeria: The impacts and implications of human-related and climatic factors

Abstract

Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Medway Campus, United Kingdom. Received 3 September, 2013; Accepted 1 February, 2014 Northern Nigeria despite its promising agricultural potential, is currently not enjoying economic bloom like its Southern counterpart as a result of political, religious, ethnic and socio-economic factors. The degradation of land and its resulting impact on other agricultural resources may have further exacerbated the economic and social conditions of the region. The perceived encroachment of Nigeria’s Savannah into its rainforest zone indicated possible land degradation. Some authors attributed this degradation to anthropogenic sources whilst others reported climatic variability (which is nature-driven) as the singular culprit. Therefore, this study reviews the impacts and implications of both human-related and climatic factors on land degradation in Northern Nigeria. Human-related activities such as agricultural/pastoral expansion, agricultural intensification and fuel-wood extraction as well as climatic/physical factors such as rainfall variability and land-atmosphere feedback mechanisms were suggested by various authors as agents of land degradation in Northern Nigeria. The remediation strategies to reduce the impacts of anthropogenic factors include the practice of agroforestry, rainwater harvesting, local irrigation techniques, utilization of wetter sites, contour ridging and terracing to conserve nutrient and water run-off, cautionary expansion of cultivated sites, and the maintenance of a viable seed stock well-suited to variable climatic conditions. The recommendations made on the resulting conflict between crop farmers and pastoralists include a federal government-assisted water project to build more waterpoints at strategic areas in the region and the practice of agropastoralism. However, the controversy over the cause of land degradation in Africa has led to a number of research questions itemised in this paper on the main cause of land degradation, the elements of climate inducing the dryness and wetness of the region, and the extent of land recovery when wet seasons return.