Soil Fertility And Management A Sure Way Towards Food Production In Ogoja South-South Nigeria.

Abstract - Ogoja is an agrarian community endowed with vast acres of agricultural land human and material resources needed for agricultural development poverty reduction and sustainable food production. But the challenges posed by soil problems in agricultural production have been an issue of general concern among farmers in the study area. This concern is attributed to the soil management practice adopted in agricultural production at various levels. This study was conceptualized to investigate on soil fertility and management as a sure way towards food production in Ogoja local government area LGA of Cross River State. A well structured questionnaire were employed to collect vital information from 80 respondents sampled from each of the five communities that make up Ogoja LGA using multistage sampling techniques. Data collected from the study were analyzed using descriptive statistical tools. The result showed that majority 80 of farmers agreed that fertile soil promote crop yield 60 of the farmers accepted that fertile soil do not exist in Ogoja. While 80-98 of the farmers agree that various soil management practices are necessary for improving crop yield in the studied area. Finally some implications for crop production were drawn from the overall result of the study. It was suggested among other things that farmers should be encouraged by the government on the need and importance of soil fertility and management and adopt those practices that will ensure sustainability of the soil fertility. This will help them to contribute meaningfully to food production through enhanced productivity.