Desertification, Biodiversity and Environmental Problems in

the Agricultural and Socio-economic Development of Nigeria

Causes, consequences and recommendations
Adeniyi Arimoro
Geomatics Nigeria Limited, Ibadan, Nigeria

Introduction
Desertification is not a new environmental problem, and yet it is only recently, particularly in the
1970s and 1980s, that serious attention has been
given to the increasing rate and debilitating effects
of desertification in Nigeria. It is one of the main
environmental problems afflicting biological
diversity, agriculture and other sectors of the
nations economy, as human activities alter natural
ecosystems in the direction of agro-ecosystems.
Continuous degradation is causing significant
change, sometimes altering ecosystems completely.
With further perturbation, and in the presence of
acute climatic changes such as drought, these
ecosystems could collapse irreversibly, laying
them open to desertification.

Causes and consequences of the

problems
The United Nations Conference on Desertification
(1997) defines desertification as the reduction and
destruction of the lands biological potential,
resulting in the appearance of desert conditions. It
is an aspect of the generalised degradation of
ecosystems under the combined pressure of
adverse and uncertain climatic conditions and
over-exploitation. The various forms of overexploitation, misuse and mismanagement of limited resources that have contributed to these major
changes are largely non-sustainable. They include
overgrazing and bush burning, over-cultivation
and over-harvesting, poor farming practices (such
as soil tillage with heavy machinery and shifting
cultivation), over-use and wrong use of pesticides
and other chemicals, mismanagement of water
and bad irrigation techniques, poor management
of mineral and natural resources, and the construction of dams and other infrastructure. Such
activities lead to a destructive chain of events,
which include genetic and soil erosion, nutrient
and mineral leaching, land and habitat degrada-

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Sowing the Seeds for Sustainability

tion, water and atmospheric pollution, biodiversity

and soil fertility losses. The continuous removal of
vegetation cover by deforestation, overgrazing by
livestock, over-cultivation and planting crops in
ecologically frail soils are the most devastating
activities.
These changes have occurred to satisfy peoples
immediate needs, wants and demands, to the
detriment of the precious biodiversity. Biodiversity
refers to the numbers, varieties and variability of
living organisms and the ecological complexity
within the living world, expressed in three basic
levels genetic, species and ecosystem diversities
(McNeely et al. 1990). The rate at which biological
diversity is being lost to the activities mentioned
above is unprecedented, and this is a clear indication that all life forms including man are in jeopardy.
The process of desertification often starts with an
unremarkable expansion of cropping activity into
ecologically more fragile areas. But eventually so
many other disturbances build up in the environment that the natural system is disrupted and
people suffer. The untold damage to both aquatic
and terrestrial ecosystem components in turn lead
to serious economic losses. Inhabitants of the
African Sahara regions suffer severe hardship as a
result of desertification. The most devastating
consequences for people are the significant losses
of water and food shortages, famine and a
depressed economy. More serious and concerted
efforts must be put in place to reduce and halt disturbing processes such as these (Arimoro 1998a).
The underlying hurdles which stand in the way of
improvement include the failure of the authorities
and agencies concerned to carry out the proper
environmental impact assessment (EIA) and environmental risk assessment (ERA) studies, and the
fact that the general public still does not seem to
know the long-term effects and dire consequences
of these types of environmental deterioration.
Those with some knowledge may not know what
to do to safeguard the environment and contribute

DESERTIFICATION, BIODIVERSITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS IN ... NIGERIA

to its preservation, or may not know how to make

proper use of the available resources.
On top of that, in the past 25 years or so the agricultural sector has not been given the attention it
needed. It was pushed into the background while
most attention was given to the oil (petroleum)
sector the breadwinner of the nation. There was
no thoughtful and efficient agricultural strategy to
implement the appropriate agricultural practices
and sustainable farming techniques. While some
non-sustainable farming techniques are gradually
being phased out in recent years, a lot of work is
still needed for significant improvement. Moreover, much agricultural and horticultural produce,
especially vegetables, fruits and grains, is wasted.
Each year hundreds of thousands of tons of fruit
and grain from cultivated and naturally growing
fruit trees and shrubs are not harvested for human
consumption or processing, but are left to rot or
left for the animals and insects. Mango (Mangifera
indica), cashew (Anacardium occidentale), guava
(Guagava sp.), citrus (Citrus sp.), banana (Musa sp.),
papaw (Carica papaya), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), chillies (Capsicum sp.) and many other
indigenous fruits are examples of such casualty
crops. If appropriately harnessed and utilised, the
agricultural sector, like the oil sector, has a huge
potential and capability to contribute significantly
to the economic growth and progressive development of the nation.
Another notable factor is that agricultural research
programmes and other studies are often not given
the attention and incentives they deserve.
Research activities have been known to slow
down, they have limitations and sometimes prove
to be inferior because of inadequate facilities and
technology. Research reports often remain on the
shelf. Research scientists and experimental field
workers are almost never given the opportunity to
turn their research findings into workable solutions to problems. In short, enormous amounts of
energy, time, money and other resources are being
wasted, contributing little or nothing to the growth
and development of the country.

Proposed solution and

recommendations
In the tropics and subtropics, targeting environmentally destructive processes, such as desertification and biodiversity losses, and addressing faulty
and non-sustainable agricultural practices are
large tasks. More research work should be proposed and executed to address some of these

issues and contribute to efforts to ameliorate such

environmental problems. This would improve the
agricultural and socio-economic development of
Nigeria and of other developing countries with
similar problems.
To find a sound solution to these environmental
and biodiversity problems and to improve the
agricultural sector in Nigeria, we must make a
concerted effort to highlight the ecological consequences of human actions. Some valued ecosystem
components should be selected to demonstrate the
level of ecosystem degradation and biodiversity
loss that may result from anthropogenic activities
(Freedman 1995). Appropriate recommendations
that may contribute to environmental protection
laws should also be highlighted. This may lead to
legislation to help the appropriate authorities
make and enforce policies, and legislation to
improve and restore the ecosystems under threat
(FEPA 1990). The result may also lead to the identification of endangered species and of procedures
for preserving them.
An EIA study should be carried out for proposed
projects and an environmental impact statement
(EIS) produced (Olokesusi 1984). A good study can
reveal the need for this. The study should emphasise the value of EIA as a process of identifying and
evaluating the consequences of human actions on
the environment and, when appropriate, mitigating those consequences (Erickson 1994). This will
demonstrate the importance of carrying out a thorough EIA before embarking on the project, and
that the results of an EIA study should always be
studied and considered before proceeding to other
aspects of the decision-making process.
Such information should be directed primarily to
the government or appropriate authorities, scientists, regulators, consultants and stakeholders
directly responsible for and involved in decisionmaking processes, preparing proposals and implementing projects. Simulations and models of environmental problems and their resolution should be
designed. This will help in predicting the outcome
of certain actions, thus serving as a useful tool in
future monitoring, evaluation and analysis of
similar environmental issues when they arise. The
research work should also make provision for the
design of an efficient curriculum and taught programme that will educate all on environmental
protection and preservation procedures. This
should then be recommended for the educational
system (right from the primary level). The media
and residents in the project location and its surroundings should be given adequate information
Sowing the Seeds for Sustainability

33

CHAPTER 1: FARMING IN DRYLANDS

and the opportunity to exercise their moral and

social welfare rights and opinions (Arimoro 2000).
The agricultural sector should be given undivided
attention as it may bring in as much revenue as
other leading sectors of the economy, thus
augmenting the growth and expansion of the
countrys social economy. An efficient programme
to implement appropriate agricultural practices,
and farming techniques should be put in place and
utilised uncompromisingly. All should be made to
appreciate and abide by the principles and regulations of the programme and strategy. Due to the
fragile nature of tropical soils, agricultural practices such as no tillage, crop rotation and the use of
environmentally friendly, biological materials for
pest management should be encouraged. These
have proved consistently viable and sustainable
over the years.
If farming is to be done on forest floors and in
other sensitive ecozones, the principles and methods of agroforestry and alley cropping are highly
recommended. These have not only proved to be
profitable but have also been effective technical
tools in restoration programmes. These methods
involve the systematic planting of a combination
of economic tree species with arable crop plants
(Baumer 1990). To strengthen these tools, the art
and science of planting trees such as Azadirachta
indica, Eucalyptus camadulensi, Gmelina sp., Acacia
sp., Cassia sp. and many different types of fruit
trees along, among and within plantation plots as
shelter belts are employed, instead of the indiscriminate felling of trees. These comprehensive
techniques have been used extensively to reclaim
sensitive and degrading portions of forests in subhumid and humid zones in Nigeria, as in many
parts of the Amazon rain forests of Brazil
(Anonymous 2000).
Other combinations of bioremediation techniques
could also be effectively used to ameliorate,
improve and restore deteriorating habitats and
already degraded ecosystems. Bioremediation is
both a principle and a technique whereby biological resources are utilised to restore a degraded area
to its original state. For example, the Vetiver grass
(Vetiveria zizaniodes) has been grown to check and
restore flood disaster zones and used to rehabilitate communities that have been degraded by soil
erosion (CE-RASE 2000). Adequate and efficient
training should then be provided for subsistence
and large-scale farmers and foresters in all the
workable techniques and principles introduced.
Improved and efficient harvesting procedures
should be put in place to prevent enormous
amounts of fruit and grain being wasted, with the

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Sowing the Seeds for Sustainability

aim of storing and processing such produce for

future use during the off-season periods of scarcity.
Excess fruits could be processed into a variety of
products such as fruit juices, drinks, jams, marmalades, jellies, flavours, spices, wine and other
alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Many of
these items, if processed and packaged well, could
be sold and exported to raise national government
income instead having to import them at extra
expense from other countries.
Whenever viable research programmes and scientific work activities are proposed and designed, it
is important that scientists and others concerned
should be given all the necessary resources,
including adequate finances and incentives, to
implement, execute and establish the project.
Provision should be made to educate and train
others to ensure continuity, multiplication and
maintenance of the work activity and research programme. The use of modern and sophisticated
equipment and technological know-how (e.g.
supercomputers and GIS) and state-of-the-art
telecommunication systems (such as fax, email and
internet facilities) should be readily available and
sufficient, and appropriately used to enhance and
facilitate research. This will boost and accelerate
study and research work by providing ease of
information retrieval and dissemination between
developing countries and rest of the developed
world. Indeed, the brilliant successes and achievements we see in developed nations today are a
result of the application and utilisation of all these
forms of technological facilities for scientific
research and development (Arimoro 1998b).

Conclusion
The conservation and sustainable utilisation of
biological resources and the protection and preservation of the environment are undeniably important aspects of our lives, and as such, issues relating to these must not be underestimated or
neglected. Our continued existence and that of
future generations largely depends on how well
we treat and care for the things we depend on, and
how well we look after the things that depend on
us. Since desertification and the activities that lead
to it are a threat to man, his agricultural development and his socio-economic progress, it is high
time for all developing and underdeveloped countries to sit up and contribute significantly to the
campaign and actual conservation of the earths
biological resources. Desertification, leading to
biodiversity losses, is one of the most important
environmental problems facing the world in

DESERTIFICATION, BIODIVERSITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS IN ... NIGERIA

general. Embarking conscientiously on sustainable

agricultural and environmental practices, therefore, will go along way towards curbing this
menace.
The suggestions made in this paper are workable
and may enhance the agricultural, environmental
and socio-economic development of present-day
Nigeria, and contribute in no small way to sustainable development for the benefit of future generations.

Baumer M. 1990. The potential role of agroforestry

in combating desertification and environmental
degradation with special reference to Africa.
Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural
Cooperation, ACP-EEC Lome Convention, P.O
Box 380, 6700 AA Wageningen, Netherlands.
CE-RASE Centre for Environmental Resources and
Sustainable Ecosystems. 2000. We have solution
to environmental degradation in Nigeria. The
Hope Home and Environment Journal November
17 2000, p 12.
Erickson P.A. 1994. A practical guide to environmental impact assessment. Toronto: Academic Press.

References
Anonymous. 2000. Greening the Amazon forests.
Awake!, November 22, p 2427.
Arimoro A.O. 1998a. Desertification in Nigeria:
causes and consequences Unpublished M.Sc.
research paper. Department of Crop Protection
and Environmental Biology, University of
Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
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