Abstract:
This study explored the effect of wildlife pests on the large expanse of fadama land from Abinsi
to Agboughul Settlements in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria.
Structural questionnaire such as focus group discussion (FGD) targeting young energetic farmers
between the ages of 21-30 years was used. Random sampling technique was employed to select
one hundred respondents from the two settlements, (50 each from the two settlements). The data
obtained were subjected to descriptive statistics (such as frequency, percentages and tables). The
result showed that cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus) (37%) and rabbit (Capensis cuniculus)
(32%) caused the most damage to the Fadama crops as compared to giant snails, (Achatina
achatina (11%) and Nile rat (Arvicanthis niloticus) (20%). Furthermore, 44% of the farmers
agreed that the animals visited the farms at night and while 25% and 11% believed the visits
were in both night and early morning respectively. Attempt to control the wildlife pests revealed
that most species continually killed could be as a result of lack of awareness campaign, agro
forestry practices and integrated farming system. These endangered species or at least threatened
may pose a dangerous trend to our wildlife conservation principles. However, this can be
minimized through well planned education programmes for the farmers |
