Environmental Conservation Information Needs of Farmers in Owerri West Area of Imo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The enormous consequences of the wanton devastation of the environment inspired this study that evaluated the environmental conservation in Owerri West Area of Imo State, Nigeria. The objectives of the study was; to determine the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers, ascertain the farmers environment conservation information needs, investigate their environmental conservation practices and identify the problem militating against sustainable environment conservation practices. The data for the study was collected from 120 randomly selected farmers from 6 communities out of the 18 existing communicates in the area of study. The data collected were analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, percentages, mean. The result showed that farmers needed information in the area of environmental disaster management and funding sources for environmental management. The perceived effects of environmental conservation were to improve the farmers' socio-economic life and reduce hazards. The results also showed that inadequate knowledge base of environmental conservation practices was a major problem militating against environmental conservation and that maturing was the most conservation practice carried out by the farmers. It was however recommended that extension education campaigns on environmental conservation practices should be intensified and the socio-economic determinants of the farmers' information need to be considered in interventions and advocacies.