Abstract

Population pressure is impressing on the need to increase productivity of arable cropland in the midst of reported decrease in fallow period. This study examined the agronomic and economic potential of cropping systems of farmers in food crop production. Data were generated through a survey of 341 food crop farmers selected through multi-stage sampling. Data were elicited with the aid of questionnaires. The fallow rotation pattern and cropping intensity index of farmers were determined while Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) and Relative Value Total (RVT) were used to compare the agronomic and economic potential of intercropping relative to monocropping across different crop combinations. The LER estimates were significantly higher for farmers who used fertilizers (1.59) than non-users (1.34). LER was also significantly higher in the Derived savanna agro ecology (1.65) than 1.37 and 1.13 in the forest and southern guinea savanna respectively. Similarly, LER was significantly higher for farmers under low (2.67) and medium (1.67) land-use intensity than for those under high (1.50) and very high (1.37) land-use intensity categories respectively. Generally, RVT of the intercrops was less than 1.0 except for Cassava/yam intercrop (1.17). The study showed that farmers may continue to gain higher yield by intercropping by but, higher productivity could be attained when farmers apply inorganic fertilizer or reduce the level of land-use intensity possibly through longer fallow. The potential under this scenario could also be higher in the derived savannah agro-ecology. Inclusion of more intensive with high market premium could however enhance the economic return from intercrops.

Key word: Crop combinations, yield, economic potential, Nigeria.