Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor, March 1999

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From process to innovation: land use intensity practices among smallholder rice farmers in Eastern Nigeria
by E. M. Igbokwe

This article examines local rice production in southeastern Nigeria, where smallholder farmers selectively adopt the technological packages disseminated by extension workers, while continuing to experiment with solutions designed to meet their specific needs. In his conclusion the author maintains that not only these practices but also the older, more experienced farmers themselves deserve to be taken seriously by extensionists and agricultural policy makers.

In the past two decades Nigeria has experienced serious food shortages, leading to the massive importation of food, at an estimated cost of 441 million naira in 1976 and 1,106 in 1979 (Adesimi 1991). 1 This in spite of the fact that most of the nation's land and labour are employed in the agricultural sector (at present, 60%). Much of these food imports consisted of rice, estimated at 650,000 metric tonnes in 1980 and 600,000 in 1982 (Kaung, John & Alam 1985; Obiechina & Otti 1985). Rice consumption per capita rose from 3 kg a year in 1970 to about 11 kg in 1980 (Obiechina & Otti 1985).
This development may be seen as symptomatic of a growing population, especially in the urban areas, and an increasing taste for rice. In 1984, the government imposed a ban on the importation of rice which was designed to counter the nation's balance of payments problem and to encourage local production. Since then there has been an aggregate increase in rice production where-by the area under production rose from 400,000 ha in 1980 to about 700,000 ha in 1989 (IRRI 1990). Total rice production showed a marked increase, from about 600,000 tonnes in 1980 to about 1,422,000 tonnes in 1989 (WARDA 1981; IRRI 1990).
This increase could have been due to various factors, such as increased hectarage, intensified land use (Lagemann 1977), the adoption of biological and chemical outputs (Carr 1989), or the response to price incentives (Eboh 1990). Yet not all farmers want--or can afford--to be dependent on external interventions. Smallholder rice farmers do experiment with, and in some cases adopt, yield-raising technologies which are independent of external interventions.
The objective of this study was to examine the development of local agronomic practices and to identify potential advantages inherent in those practices. The case study was carried out between November 1993 and December 1994 among 40 smallholder rice farmers in Ofiaokum Ndi-eze, Abakaliki, a well-known rice-growing area in south-eastern Nigeria (see map I and map II). Multiple interviews and participant observation techniques were used to gather the data. Landholding figures for the 1994 cropping season were obtained by pacing, while crop yield was estimated by counting the number of 50-kg bags of paddy harvested by the participating farmers.

Socioeconomic conditions
The people are predominantly farmers, who raise yams, cassava, melon and maize in varying combinations for subsistence, and rice for cash. Originally, yam was grown on all types of soils, including hard and gravelly ('ebirigba'), friable, sticky clay ('Ofutu'), and hydromorphic ('Uda'). However, since its introduction in the 1950s, rice has replaced yam in the hydromorphic soils of the lowlands (Blankenburg 1962).
Land tenureship is both communal and individual. On communal lands, which are generally located far away from village settlements and close to neighbouring communities, farmers have user rights to the extent that their resources permit. Individual holdings consist of the land around each farmer's home, and may include both dry and wet lowlands. This reflects the scattered settlement pattern in the Abakaliki area and the population density, which ranges from 80 to 100 per km 2 (Ekong 1988). Land in general is not scarce, but lowlands for rice cultivation are in short supply, and this may be expected to result in the almost total absence of fallow and the introduction of rice/yam rotation.
Where fallowing exists in lowland areas, it is usually a means of providing communal grazing land for the local cattle (humpless Muturu) on range, especially in the dry season. This places increased demands on the lowlands, which--thanks to the water status--produce luxuriant herbage.

The average size of a rice farm is 3 ha, divided into two or more plots. All the farmers grow one or two improved varieties, usually obtained from fellow farmers. The average age of the farmers is 45; most of them have no formal education.

The local system of rice production
The system involves fallowing for a period of three to four years. Bush clearing begins in June, shortly after nurseries have been prepared on upland plots. On flat land the vegetable materials are burnt after a dry spell. On fallow land, the materials are often gathered into heaps after the yam harvest and left to decay, or spread thinly and buried with earth dug from old yam mounds.
In all cases tillage and puddling are done manually, using family and hired labour. On the basis of 1994 labour rates, the average cost of clearing the land and preparing seedbeds was 2,800 and 3,400 naira respectively, amounting to a total expenditure per hectare of 6,200 naira. This is higher than for the new methods described below, and much higher than the cost of mechanized operation (2,500 naira), which is in any case unavailable to these farmers.
Seedlings are transplanted manually between July and August at the rate of 2-4 seedlings per point, at a planting distance of 10-15 cm. Mixed fertilizers, which have been widely adopted, are broadcast 2-3 weeks after transplantation at a rate of 400 kg per hectare. One to two weedings are carried out manually before harvesting, which commences between November and December. The average yield is 2,600 kg per ha.

Innovations: yam/ rice and rice only
With the increasing intensity of land use, rice has consistently followed yam in rotation in the lowlands. This led to the following innovative form of cropping. In a rice year, following the harvesting of yams in January, light clearing and swiping of vegetation begins around June. Seedbed preparation involves levelling the large mounds (some as high as 240 cm at the apex), using large hoes, and turning the earth over to bury all vegetation. Next, the sides of the plot are raised in order to form bunds and conserve moisture. This is followed by transplanting. Mixed fertilizer is applied at a rate of 300 kg per hectare.
The average costs of clearing and seedbed preparation are 1,000 and 4,000 naira respectively, resulting in a total cost of 5,000 naira per hectare. The average yield is 3,800 kg per ha.
The farmers note that vegetative growth is consistently more luxuriant and that the cost is lower. They also observe that only one weeding is required and that the incidence of pests, especially gall midge, is very low.
These advantages led the farmers to carry out further experiments on intensively cultivated rice lands. There is usually a trough in labour demand between November and March. Taking advantage of lower labour cost after harvesting, mounds are made in intensively cultivated rice fields (40-50 cm high, and 150-200 cm apart), ensuring that all stubble and other organic materials are buried. This practice eliminates the need for clearing in June/July. Seedbed preparation, which starts in June, involves levelling the heaps, bunding and puddling. Transplanting follows immediately. Mixed fertilizer is applied at a rate of 300 kg per hectare. A single weeding is required before harvesting.
Although this method of land preparation costs as much as yam/rice rotation (5,000 naira), and produces comparable average yields (3,800 kg), there is a consensus among farmers that the cropping system enables them to utilize the lowlands on a continuous basis. The more so as not all farmers own additional lowlands for expansion, and those who do have raised the rent, in order to discourage other farmers from using the land. Farmers are aware that burying stubble in heaps helps to destroy pests in various stages of development, while vegetative material is broken down faster, supplying important nutrients later. They are also aware that the incidence of weeds is lower than in the other two cropping systems, even though fertilizers are regularly used. Above all, they reported that the most virulent weeds are virtually eliminated.

Appeal of the innovations
Continuous rice-cropping is becoming increasingly popular in the six villages that make up the community. Over 80% of the farmers studied have adopted it. Most of the non-adopters are older, own additional land, and still grow yams in rotation with rice in the uplands. The adopters insist that the greatest appeal of this method is the fact that it eliminates clearing and reduces costs, while securing high yields. They deny that the system is a means of coping with increasing pressure on the land, and attempt to justify their stand by pointing to the advantages of being able to grow rice in uplands. Secondly, they are attracted by low labour rates during the labour demand trough, which enables them to carry out the initial land preparation. After harvesting they have the cash to pay for outside labour, while family labour can be utilized in final seedbed preparations, when the farmer runs out of funds. Most of the adopters first learnt of the system while socializing and during discussions in the market place.
There is evidence that the intensive system will be adopted by most farmers if the current selling price of rice remains attractive, which will place greater demands on land.

Conclusion and policy implications
The study suggests that heavier soils are used when population density increases or access to markets improves, and that agricultural intensification leads to an increase in yield per hectare (Pingali, Bigot and Binswanger 1987). The stability of the fallow system has been under threat by a wide variety of pressures, and this is most pronounced in eastern Nigeria, which has the highest population densities in rural Africa (Clark 1967; Lagemann 1977; Ofomata 1981). Understandably, farmers have progressively shortened fallow periods in response to these pressures (Ruthernberg 1980; Ofomata 1981). And yet they believe that with the infusion of external inputs, especially fertilizers, and the introduction of certain local innovations, as reported here, the land can sustain high yields under intensive land use. However, with the gradual removal of subsidies on chemical fertilizer and the subsequent cost increases, there is some doubt as to the future sustainability of the cropping system.
In pursuing the agricultural extension and technology transfer policy in Nigeria, the government has been involved in the dissemination of useful and practical information related to agriculture. This has led to the adoption of the T & V (training and visit) system promoted by the World Bank, which is based on the use of 'contact farmers.' An important feature of this system is the fact that it is designed to disseminate technologies developed during investigations in research institutes and adaptation testing under extension conditions.

The monthly technology review meetings and the fortnightly training meetings, which are an important part of T & V, are based on a top-down procedure by which activities and/or technology packages are handed down to field staff, without considering the field experiences of the farmers who operate te farms. This one-way channel does not allow the extension services to recognize and take into account innovative developments among farmers who are knowledgeable about their environment. Moreover, the use of contact farmers tends to shut out the older farmers from interaction with extension agents, who tend to select younger, educated and more accessible farmers (Madukwe & Ayichi 1995) The contact farmers thus selected are less likely to experiment and to interact with a broad range of their fellow farmers, which would result in a two-way flow of information. Thus extension services must not confine their activities to contact farmers, if they want to learn what farmers are actually doing. Moreover, they should recognize farmer innovations, test them and, if appropriate, disseminate the information. And finally, it is important to encourage mechanization, as a means of increasing production.

E.M. Igbokwe
Department of Agricultural Extension
Faculty of Agriculture
University of Nigeria
Nsukka - Enugu State Nigeria

Ndi-eze is a clan name encompassing various farming communities, one of which is Ofiaokum. LGA refers to Local Government Area, a grassroots politico-administrative unit, in this case for the Izzi, an Igbo sub-ethnic group.

References
- Adesimi, A.A. (1991) 'Farm enterprise combination and resource use among small holder farmers in Ijebu, Nigeria', in C.R. Doss and C. Olson (eds) Issues in African rural development. Arlington, USA: Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development.
- Blackenburg, P.V. (1962) Rice farming in Abakiliki, Awgu and Afikpo areas. Ibadan: Nigeria Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER).
- Carr, S.J. (1962). Technology for small scale farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank. Technical Paper Number 109.
- Clark, C. (1967) Population growth and land use. London: Macmillan.
- Eboh, E.C. (1990) Agricultural intensification and factor productivity in Anambra State of Nigeria: A case study. Ph.D Thesis. Nsukka: Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nigeria.
- Ekong, E.E. (1988) Rural sociology: An introduction and analysis of rural Nigeria. Ibadan: Jumark Publishers Ltd.
- International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) (1990) Rice facts. Los Banos, the Philippines: IRRI.
- Kaung, Z., V.T. John, and M.S. Alam (1985) 'Rice production in Africa: an overview.' Proceedings of the International Workshop held in Lusaka, Zambia, April 1984. Los Banos, Philippines: International Rice Research Institute, pp. 7-26.
- Lagemann, J. (1977) Traditional African farming systems in Eastern Nigeria: An analysis of reaction to increasing population pressure. Munchen: Weltforum Verlag.
- Madukwe, M.C. and D.I. Ayichi (1995) An assessment of the contact farmer strategy of agricultural technology transfer in Nigeria. A final research report submitted to the African Rural Social Sciences Research Networks of the Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development.
- Obiechina, C.O.B. and F. Otti (1985) 'Socio-economic impact of rice production technology on a rural area of Anambra State, Nigeria', Nigerian Journal of Rural Development and Cooperative Studies, Vol. 1(2): 132-147.
- Ofomata, G.E.K. (1981) 'The land resources of south-eastern Nigeria: A need for conservation', pp. 94-106 in U.M. Igbozurike (ed.) Land use and conservation in Nigeria. Nsukka: University of Nigeria Press.
- Pingali, P., Y. Bigot and H.P. Binswanger (1987) Agricultural mechanization and the evolution of farming systems in Sub-Sahara Africa. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Ruthernberg, H. (1980) Farming systems in the tropics. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- West African Rice Development Authority (WARDA) (1981) Classification of types of rice cultivation in West Africa. WARDA/78/STC/8/11, October 1978.

Endnote: 1 Officially 22 naira is equivalent to one US dollar.

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