The indigenous system of crop production in Nigeria, the bush fallow farming system, which is known for its stability and biological efficiency, can no longer be operated effectively, due to a shortage of land. In order to increase farm productivity, researchers have devised alley farming, a low-input farming system which sustains crop and livestock production, can reduce competition from weeds, and conserves soil by reducing soil physico-chemical degradation and the decline of soil organic matter. The mobilization of women to adopt agricultural innovations is an important topic in development studies. Due to the important role of Nigerian women farmers in crop and livestock production, they are encouraged to adopt alley farming. Contrary to some of the literature, which claims that women are slow innovation adopters, this study argues that women farmers easily adopt innovations that can enhance their economic status. The paper argues that the characteristics of alley farming influence women farmers‘ adoption or rejection of the farming system. It was observed that the land tenure system is not an inflexible constraint on alley farming adoption. It is argued that low participation of women in agricultural innovation adoption is caused by lack of information about the advantages of the innovations, because meetings are fixed at times when women are not able to attend. This paper points out that the adoption of alley farming has increased the agricultural production and the quality of life of women farmer adopters.
Poverty alleviation and environmental preservation are very important issues to many governments. Alley farming is beneficial to the environment because it conserves soil and sustains yields over time. Specifically, alley farming reduces soil erosion, which is a major problem in Thailand. Alley farming was conducted on a farmer's field at Khaokwan Thong, a village in Uthaithani Province, Northern Thailand. We did a two-by-two factorial with and without alley farming, and with and without fertilizer. From this study, we observed that the two species used, Leucaena leucocephala and Acacia auriculiformis, grow well in Thailand, and that alley farming is suitable for Thailand. Few Thai farmers have heard about alley farming. However, it is nevertheless useful to know that there is potential for alley farming in Thailand using the two species. These plants, based upon the diameter and height measurements provided, grew well.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.