THE EFFECT OF SAND MINING ON FOOD CROP PRODUCTION IN ONDO STATE, NIGERIA.
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Date
2021
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Abstract
The study analyzed the effect of sand mining on food crop production in Ondo State, Nigeria. It
specifically described and compared socio-economic characteristics of landowners in the study area;
identified the perceived factors influencing landowners to lease land to sand miners; evaluated the
soil management requirements for remediating the mined agricultural lands and estimated the
opportunity cost of leasing agricultural land to sand miners by farming household. A multi-stage
sampling procedure was employed to select 120 respondents from the study area. The collected data
were analyzed using descriptive statistics, soil analysis and Net Present Value (NPV). The result
revealed that the average mean age across all four locations is 51years; about (51.7%) of the
respondents have a secondary level of education across the locations. Also, the mean household size
of the households was about 5 persons. Sand mining offers better job security than farming (x̅= 4.96),
Sand mining provides quick access to income (x̅= 4.91), Sand mining offers job opportunities to
people without lands (x̅= 4.81), Sand mining does not require any specialized skills to engage in (x̅
= 4.71), Unemployment/underemployment compel people to engage in sand mining (x̅= 4.56), Sand
mining is economically more rewarding than farming (x̅= 4.52), Sand mining is economically more
rewarding than farming (x̅= 4.52) were the most factors influencing landowners to lease their lands
to sand miners. The result revealed that soils in the study area were acidic with an average pH of 5.3
after sand mining. The soil organic carbon of the plots was below the critical level, likewise the
exchangeable potassium, sodium and the soil organic matter which is an indication that fertilization
of the plots is highly necessary; the total nitrogen was higher than the critical value while the
phosphorus content was within the critical value. The Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) was very
low having a value less than 3meq/100g. Also, inorganic fertilizer (animal manure) has economic
value as plant nutrient sources and can be used as amendments for soils to improve soil physical
properties by adding organic matter. The result of the NPV from leasing the land to sand mining
activities as against remediating the land for agricultural practices was -N42,187.60. The results
revealed in the study area that here is severe soil nutrient depletion in the study area based on sand
mining activites.